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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: board · cell · bay · net · degree · hide · face · rest

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. net — in sport
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. board — a committee
  6. cell — in biology
  7. degree — temperature
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. rest — a break
  11. net — for catching
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. net — after costs
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. face — to confront
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. board — to get on
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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