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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — a country
  5. ball — a dance
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — part of the head
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. degree — from a university
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — temperature
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. degree — an amount
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. face — to point toward

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