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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mark — a trace
  3. degree — from a university
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chest — a box
  6. ball — a dance
  7. face — to confront
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. row — a line
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mark — a grade
  14. cell — in biology
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cell — a phone
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — to point toward
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. degree — an amount

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