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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. band — a music group
  3. drill — the tool
  4. face — part of the head
  5. band — a ring
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. degree — temperature
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. face — to confront
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bark — to shout
  18. degree — from a university
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — an amount
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. vault — a safe
  24. drill — army training

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