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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: field · degree · board · wake · trunk · bat · face · ground

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — a committee
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. face — part of the head
  8. degree — temperature
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bat — the animal
  12. ground — a position
  13. board — to get on
  14. ground — the earth
  15. face — to confront
  16. field — a subject
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ground — crushed
  19. face — to point toward
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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