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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 120 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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. bark — to shout
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. face — part of the head
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. face — to confront
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bass — the fish

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