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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: jam · ground · pop · face · degree · fine · foot · patient

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  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. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. fine — high quality
  5. degree — an amount
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. foot — a measure
  9. ground — a position
  10. pop — soda
  11. ground — the earth
  12. fine — all right
  13. degree — temperature
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pop — to visit
  17. ground — crushed
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. pop — music
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. jam — in traffic
  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