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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: face · club · degree · bound · date · stem · bark · board

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. face — to confront
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. face — part of the head
  8. degree — an amount
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bark — to shout
  13. board — a committee
  14. bound — tied together
  15. club — a group
  16. bound — certain
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. board — to get on
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. club — for golf
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bound — obliged

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