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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 120 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: face · bark · squash · pass · degree · net · ground · track

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ground — a position
  7. degree — an amount
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. net — for catching
  12. track — to keep track
  13. net — after costs
  14. ground — the earth
  15. track — a song
  16. face — to confront
  17. track — a path
  18. ground — crushed
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. net — in sport

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