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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. mate — to breed
  3. degree — an amount
  4. face — to point toward
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. face — part of the head
  8. degree — temperature
  9. face — to confront
  10. bark — to shout
  11. file — a line of people
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mate — a friend
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. mate — a partner
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. file — a document
  20. drill — army training
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. file — a tool
  23. present — there
  24. drill — a practice

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