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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · face · fine · toast · trunk · degree · spring · swing

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. mate — a friend
  5. degree — an amount
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. spring — a coil
  8. swing — music
  9. toast — bread
  10. swing — to play on
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mate — to breed
  14. degree — from a university
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. fine — all right
  17. face — to confront
  18. spring — the season
  19. mate — a partner
  20. fine — high quality
  21. swing — in golf
  22. degree — temperature
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. spring — of water

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