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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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Word bank
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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: net · chest · pass · degree · mark · face · arm · lash

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. net — after costs
  7. mark — a trace
  8. net — in sport
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. net — for catching
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. pass — a permit
  23. mark — a grade
  24. lash — an eyelash

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