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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 120 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: season · face · wax · bark · ruler · mug · spell · degree

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. mug — a face
  6. face — part of the head
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. season — of the year
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. face — to confront
  16. season — in sport
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. spell — magic
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mug — to rob
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mug — a cup

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