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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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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: bay · cap · degree · trunk · chair · face · game · charge

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. game — a match
  4. charge — in control
  5. game — wild animals
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chair — a leader
  8. face — to confront
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. charge — a price
  12. cap — a lid
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cap — of ice
  15. charge — electricity
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. degree — temperature
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cap — a hat
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. face — part of the head

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