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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. firm — decided
  3. firm — steady
  4. stem — to come from
  5. march — the month
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. toast — bread
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. face — part of the head
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. face — to confront
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pound — a weight
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. firm — a company
  21. degree — temperature
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. face — to point toward

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