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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · face · degree · pass · bark · shower

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cell — in biology
  4. pass — a permit
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. shower — rain
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cell — a phone
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. shower — to wash

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