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

Word bank: deal · degree · bay · land · file · present · cabinet · face

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. face — part of the head
  3. land — a country
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. degree — from a university
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. file — a document
  9. present — a gift
  10. face — to point toward
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. file — a tool
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. degree — an amount
  15. deal — to handle
  16. degree — temperature
  17. land — ground
  18. face — to confront
  19. present — the time now
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. file — a line of people
  22. land — to come down
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bay — a horse colour

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