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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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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: swing · degree · game · chest · deal · wake · chip · face

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. degree — temperature
  4. face — part of the head
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. swing — to play on
  9. degree — from a university
  10. game — a match
  11. chip — for betting
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. chest — a box
  14. wake — a trail
  15. swing — in golf
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chip — to eat
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. deal — to handle
  24. chest — of your body

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