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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 116 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: land · board · ground · capital · dip · face · degree · bowl

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. face — part of the head
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. capital — money
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. ground — the earth
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. dip — to sink
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. land — ground
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. ground — a position
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bowl — a football final

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