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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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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: hide · stick · roll · fork · pitcher · face · fall · degree

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — temperature
  8. roll — a list
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. face — to confront
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fall — to drop
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fall — the season
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. face — to point toward
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fork — in a road
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. degree — from a university

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