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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 116 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: cue · rest · degree · face · bat · present · sharp · hand

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. hand — in cards
  4. sharp — clever
  5. present — the time now
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. face — to confront
  9. present — there
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cue — a signal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. hand — help
  15. rest — a break
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cue — a hint
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bat — the animal
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. present — a gift
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cue — for pool

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