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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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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: swing · bark · chip · face · mine · pit · craft · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chip — for betting
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. swing — to play on
  8. craft — boats
  9. swing — music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mine — for digging
  16. face — part of the head
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pit — in a race
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bark — to shout
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — to confront

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