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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: mine · rest · lash · degree · face · tube · pitch · file

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. rest — a break
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tube — a container
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. file — a tool
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rest — what's left
  14. face — to confront
  15. file — a document
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tube — the underground
  18. face — to point toward
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. degree — an amount
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. face — part of the head

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