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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: hand · track · field · calf · degree · face · season · dip

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. season — of the year
  3. field — farmland
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. face — part of the head
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. track — to keep track
  9. field — a subject
  10. track — a song
  11. degree — temperature
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. track — a path
  18. face — to point toward
  19. field — for sport
  20. season — in sport
  21. dip — to sink
  22. degree — an amount
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. calf — a young animal

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