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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. face — part of the head
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mark — a grade
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. degree — an amount
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — temperature
  17. date — the fruit
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mark — a trace
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. kick — in football
  22. face — to confront
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bark — to shout

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