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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. face — to confront
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rock — a stone
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bark — to shout
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. scale — in music
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — temperature
  19. face — part of the head
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rock — music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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