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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · degree · field · band · game · pit · bore · mouse

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bore — to tire
  4. face — to point toward
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. game — wild animals
  8. field — farmland
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. band — a ring
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pit — in a race
  15. degree — an amount
  16. field — for sport
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. game — a match
  20. field — a subject
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bore — to drill
  23. band — a music group
  24. degree — temperature

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