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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: rush · degree · tube · lie · mate · rash · face · bark

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. rash — a series
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rush — hurry
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mate — a partner
  6. face — to confront
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. rash — hasty
  14. lie — to recline
  15. face — part of the head
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. mate — a friend
  21. degree — an amount
  22. tube — the underground
  23. rush — a thrill
  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