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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: ball · key · degree · spring · patient · tear · face · toast

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — temperature
  13. key — the most important part
  14. face — to confront
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. key — in music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. toast — bread
  19. face — part of the head
  20. ball — a great time
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. face — to point toward
  24. degree — an amount

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