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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · ball · lash · court · calf · kick · face · degree

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. degree — temperature
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. face — part of the head
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — an amount
  10. kick — in football
  11. court — of law
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. ball — a dance
  18. degree — from a university
  19. court — of a king
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. court — for sport
  22. face — to confront
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. calf — of the leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com