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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: current · roll · degree · game · ball · face · pit · lean

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lean — to bend
  3. face — to confront
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. current — electric
  7. game — a match
  8. roll — a cake
  9. face — to point toward
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. game — wild animals
  12. face — part of the head
  13. degree — an amount
  14. roll — a list
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. current — of water
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — from a university
  21. current — happening now
  22. lean — thin
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. degree — temperature

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