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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: coach · can · deal · court · face · straw · spring · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — an amount
  4. face — to confront
  5. spring — the season
  6. can — a tin
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. court — of a king
  9. can — to be able to
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. face — part of the head
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. can — a tin
  16. face — to point toward
  17. degree — from a university
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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