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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: ground · degree · face · sharp · kid · content · season · trunk

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. sharp — clever
  3. content — the amount
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. season — in sport
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. face — to point toward
  8. kid — to tease
  9. season — of the year
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. ground — the earth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. face — to confront
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. degree — from a university
  17. kid — child
  18. ground — a position
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. ground — crushed
  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