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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: foot · cell · land · degree · club · deal · straw · face

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. foot — part of the body
  2. land — ground
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to point toward
  5. land — a country
  6. club — for dancing
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. cell — a phone
  10. face — to confront
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cell — in biology
  13. club — for golf
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. deal — to handle
  18. foot — a measure
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. land — to come down
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. degree — an amount
  23. club — a group
  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