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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: spell · bark · date · track · bore · face · club · degree

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spell — letters
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. club — a group
  8. degree — from a university
  9. face — to point toward
  10. track — a song
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. face — part of the head
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. track — a path
  15. bore — to drill
  16. spell — a short time
  17. date — the fruit
  18. face — to confront
  19. bark — to shout
  20. spell — magic
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — for dancing

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