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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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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. face — to confront
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. degree — from a university
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitch — completely
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. file — a document
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. file — a tool
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. face — to point toward

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