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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: deal · club · bore · face · dip · mine · degree · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. club — for golf
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. pop — music
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pop — to visit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. bore — to tire
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mine — for digging
  12. club — a group
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. deal — to handle
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. club — for dancing
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bore — to drill
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. degree — from a university

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