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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · cap · board · calf · bat · degree

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bat — the animal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. face — to confront
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cap — a hat

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