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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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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: rock · perch · spring · face · chest · bay · degree · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. spring — of water
  3. chest — a box
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. chip — for betting
  8. face — part of the head
  9. chest — of your body
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. degree — an amount
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — the season

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