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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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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: ground · tube · wake · rock · foot · face · degree · wound

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. ground — a position
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. ground — crushed
  6. face — to point toward
  7. foot — a measure
  8. rock — music
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wake — a trail
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rock — a stone
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. degree — an amount
  20. face — to confront
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tube — a container

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