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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 120 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: degree · present · sharp · face · content · stand · coach · wind

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — to bear
  7. sharp — clever
  8. present — a gift
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. face — part of the head
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. face — to point toward
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. present — the time now
  18. content — the amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. present — there
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — to confront
  24. content — videos and posts

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