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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
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: chest · foot · degree · face · branch · bore · mine · rash

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chest — of your body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. chest — a box
  5. bore — to tire
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. bore — to drill
  10. degree — temperature
  11. face — part of the head
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. rash — hasty

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