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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: fall · degree · bowl · face · coach · cap · hide · track

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fall — the season
  3. cap — a lid
  4. degree — temperature
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. face — part of the head
  7. track — a song
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. cap — of ice
  11. degree — from a university
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cap — a hat
  16. track — to keep track
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. fall — to drop
  21. track — a path
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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