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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: bark · tear · face · degree · stand · race · calf · game

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. race — humankind
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. face — to point toward
  8. degree — temperature
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. face — to confront
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. game — wild animals
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — an amount
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stand — to bear
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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