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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. face — to confront
  10. stock — goods
  11. pop — music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bark — to shout
  15. degree — from a university
  16. face — part of the head
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. degree — temperature
  24. stock — shares

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