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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: bear · club · chest · degree · scale · face · deal · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bear — the animal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. club — a group
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. face — to confront
  11. club — for golf
  12. wound — an injury
  13. scale — in music
  14. chest — a box
  15. scale — size or range
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. degree — an amount
  19. club — for dancing
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bear — the animal
  22. face — part of the head
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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