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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: face · wave · squash · ball · degree · trunk · bound · game

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. face — part of the head
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bound — certain
  11. degree — an amount
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. squash — the sport
  15. face — to confront
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. ball — a great time
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. degree — temperature
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. degree — from a university

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