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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: dip · face · present · cabinet · field · degree · pop · march

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pop — to visit
  3. present — a gift
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. degree — temperature
  8. face — to confront
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. march — the month
  11. face — to point toward
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. dip — to sink
  15. field — for sport
  16. pop — soda
  17. present — there
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. face — part of the head
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pop — music

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