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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rash — hasty
  6. face — to confront
  7. degree — temperature
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rash — a series
  12. bark — to shout
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. face — part of the head
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. content — the amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. content — happy
  24. temple — a place of worship

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