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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: face · degree · hand · tube · toast · bass · craft · board

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. toast — bread
  3. face — to point toward
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bass — low music
  6. degree — an amount
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — temperature
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. board — to get on
  11. craft — boats
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. hand — in cards
  14. tube — a container
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — a skill
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. board — a committee
  19. face — part of the head
  20. hand — help
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bass — the fish

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