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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: degree · game · pass · face · rule · sharp · bore · wake

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. face — part of the head
  3. game — wild animals
  4. degree — from a university
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rule — a law
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. game — a match
  13. rule — government
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bore — to drill
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. face — to confront
  21. bore — to tire
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bore — gave birth

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