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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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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. shower — rain
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bark — to shout
  14. face — to confront
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — completely
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. face — to point toward
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. degree — an amount
  23. face — part of the head
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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