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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: racket · saw · coach · hand · wax · face · hide · degree

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. face — to point toward
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. degree — from a university
  8. face — to confront
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. face — part of the head
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wax — to grow
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. hand — in cards
  24. racket — for tennis

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