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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: cap · degree · mate · deal · face · stand · prune · hand

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. cap — a hat
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. degree — from a university
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. hand — help
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mate — to breed
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. mate — a friend
  13. face — part of the head
  14. degree — an amount
  15. hand — in cards
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — of ice
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cap — a lid
  21. face — to confront
  22. mate — a partner
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stand — for spectators

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