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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. face — to confront
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bark — to shout
  9. face — to point toward
  10. degree — an amount
  11. face — part of the head
  12. drill — the tool
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. drill — a practice
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chair — a leader
  23. drill — army training
  24. chair — to sit on

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