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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: kick · face · degree · prune · swing · leaves · game · racket

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. face — to confront
  4. degree — from a university
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. face — to point toward
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — a match
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. game — wild animals
  11. degree — temperature
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. prune — to trim
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kick — in football
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. face — part of the head

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