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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 116 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 · dip · branch · chip · degree · cold

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. dip — to sink
  3. branch — a division
  4. face — part of the head
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. chip — for betting
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. degree — temperature
  10. face — to confront
  11. cold — an illness
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cold — not warm

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