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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: face · degree · content · track · kick · patient · toast · land

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. track — a path
  3. degree — temperature
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. face — to point toward
  9. land — to come down
  10. toast — bread
  11. face — to confront
  12. track — a song
  13. degree — from a university
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. face — part of the head
  16. degree — an amount
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. track — to keep track
  22. content — happy
  23. kick — in football
  24. toast — the most admired

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