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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: dip · racket · wake · degree · face · chair · pitch · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. face — to confront
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wake — a trail
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. dip — to sink
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pitch — completely

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