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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: chip · swing · prune · face · key · degree · file · bear

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — temperature
  5. face — part of the head
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. face — to point toward
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bear — the animal
  10. key — in music
  11. bear — the animal
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. prune — to trim
  21. file — a tool
  22. face — to confront
  23. prune — to trim
  24. file — a document

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