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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: racket · fall · degree · band · stem · face · nail · date

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. face — to confront
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. face — part of the head
  8. band — a ring
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. face — to point toward
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. band — a music group
  20. fall — to drop
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stem — to come from
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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