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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · fork · hide · land · lean · jam · face · degree

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. land — to come down
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. season — in sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. season — of the year
  8. face — to point toward
  9. degree — temperature
  10. face — part of the head
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. land — ground
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. face — to confront
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. land — a country
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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