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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: mine · face · chip · degree · scale · chest · lie · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. chip — to eat
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. degree — temperature
  7. root — of a plant
  8. mine — for digging
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. degree — an amount
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — from a university
  16. root — the cause
  17. face — to confront
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. lie — to recline
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. chip — for betting
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. scale — in music

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