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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.

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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: degree · ball · wound · mine · track · root · bat · face

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. face — part of the head
  3. root — the cause
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. root — of a word
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ball — a great time
  9. face — to confront
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bat — the animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. degree — temperature

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