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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stand — to bear
  4. degree — temperature
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. fine — all right
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pound — a weight
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. face — to confront
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — an amount
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stand — for spectators

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