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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. file — a document
  4. face — to point toward
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. snap — to click
  11. file — a line of people
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. file — a tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. face — to confront
  24. pitch — completely

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