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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 116 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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 — temperature
  2. fine — all right
  3. degree — an amount
  4. court — for sport
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. court — of a king
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fork — in a road
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bark — to shout
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fine — high quality
  18. lie — to recline
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. court — of law
  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