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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: face · degree · spell · content · toast · racket · saw · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. degree — an amount
  5. content — happy
  6. face — to confront
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. degree — from a university
  10. toast — bread
  11. staff — employees
  12. spell — magic
  13. face — part of the head
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. spell — a short time
  19. content — the amount
  20. staff — a stick
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — temperature
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. spell — letters

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