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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 120 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
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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: stem · perch · content · face · net · land · degree · bore

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. land — a country
  2. net — after costs
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bore — to drill
  7. net — in sport
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — ground
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. face — part of the head
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. stem — to come from
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. content — happy
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bore — to tire
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. net — for catching
  21. land — to come down
  22. content — the amount
  23. stem — of a plant
  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