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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wake · content · lie · bat · board · degree · field · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. content — happy
  5. field — farmland
  6. bat — the animal
  7. content — the amount
  8. board — to get on
  9. field — a subject
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — temperature
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. face — to confront
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. field — for sport

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