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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: chest · face · squash · rule · fine · degree · saw · content

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. squash — to crush
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. content — the amount
  6. saw — the tool
  7. squash — the sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. degree — from a university
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fine — all right
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. rule — a law
  18. face — to point toward
  19. fine — high quality
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. degree — temperature
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — an amount

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