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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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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: content · face · degree · temple · plane · chest · mark · pass

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. face — part of the head
  4. plane — a tool
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. content — happy
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mark — a trace
  11. degree — from a university
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mark — a grade
  14. pass — a permit
  15. content — the amount
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. face — to confront
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. chest — a box
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pass — to spend time

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