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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: face · lean · suit · swing · pass · degree · court · bark

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. lean — to bend
  3. face — part of the head
  4. court — for sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. suit — to fit
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. swing — in golf
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. face — to point toward
  14. lean — thin
  15. swing — music
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. swing — to play on
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pass — a permit
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. suit — clothes
  24. court — of law

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