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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.

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: cabinet · face · scale · chest · degree · game · arm · ground

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chest — of your body
  10. scale — in music
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chest — of your body
  18. scale — size or range
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chest — a box
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. face — to confront
  23. ground — a position
  24. scale — for weighing

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