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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. degree — temperature
  4. face — to point toward
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. face — to confront
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. saw — the tool
  10. degree — from a university
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. degree — an amount
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wound — an injury
  18. board — a committee
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. board — to get on
  23. saw — the tool
  24. face — part of the head

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