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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: face · degree · swing · rule · spring · chest · pound · bore

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. face — to point toward
  5. swing — music
  6. face — to confront
  7. bore — to drill
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — in golf
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rule — government
  13. spring — of water
  14. swing — to play on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. pound — a weight
  20. rule — a law
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. chest — of your body

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