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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. land — a country
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. land — ground
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. face — to confront
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hand — help
  18. row — a line
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. land — to come down
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. row — a quarrel

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