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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bass — low music
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. saw — the tool
  6. craft — boats
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lie — to recline
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. face — to confront

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