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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. degree — from a university
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. board — a committee
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. face — part of the head
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. degree — temperature
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pass — a permit
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. spring — the season
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. board — to get on
  24. trunk — of a car

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