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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cap — of ice
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bat — the animal
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bark — to shout
  21. mate — a partner
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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