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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: ground · degree · pitcher · face · row · stem · pit · lie

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ground — a position
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pit — in a race
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. row — a line
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. degree — an amount
  18. face — part of the head
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stem — to come from
  24. pit — a hole

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