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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 · squash · mate · shower · face · season · mark

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. game — a match
  3. squash — the sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mate — a partner
  7. degree — an amount
  8. season — of the year
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. mate — a friend
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. degree — temperature
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. squash — to crush
  23. face — to point toward
  24. mark — a grade

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