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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. face — to point toward
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. deal — to handle
  8. current — electric
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chip — for betting
  12. face — to confront
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chest — of your body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. current — of water
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. chip — to eat
  22. current — happening now
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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