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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wake — a trail
  3. ground — a position
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. ground — the earth
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. degree — temperature
  11. root — of a word
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bark — to shout
  14. face — to confront
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. root — of a plant
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. root — the cause
  24. wake — before a funeral

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