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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. file — a line of people
  4. ball — a dance
  5. file — a document
  6. degree — temperature
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bank — for money
  9. present — a gift
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bank — for money
  12. shower — to wash
  13. face — part of the head
  14. shower — rain
  15. degree — an amount
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bank — of a river
  18. ball — a great time
  19. degree — from a university
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. file — a tool
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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