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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: fan · face · object · pitch · degree · cabinet · band · last

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. face — to point toward
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. last — final
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. band — a ring
  12. last — finally
  13. object — an aim
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pitch — completely
  16. face — part of the head
  17. last — to go on
  18. object — to protest
  19. band — a music group
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. object — a thing

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