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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: root · swing · degree · content · race · face · fan · mark

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. swing — music
  3. race — the arms race
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mark — a grade
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. content — the amount
  9. root — of a plant
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. face — part of the head
  15. race — humankind
  16. degree — from a university
  17. root — of a word
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. content — happy
  21. swing — to play on
  22. root — the cause
  23. race — a contest
  24. mark — a trace

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