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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: spring · degree · swing · ball · face · mug · mark · lean

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lean — to bend
  4. spring — a coil
  5. degree — an amount
  6. swing — music
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a grade
  12. spring — of water
  13. face — part of the head
  14. lean — thin
  15. spring — the season
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mug — a cup
  19. ball — a dance
  20. face — to confront
  21. swing — to play on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ball — a great time
  24. swing — in golf

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