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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · board · ground · degree · mark · trunk · face · tear

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. ground — crushed
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. ground — the earth
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. degree — temperature
  7. face — to confront
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — to get on
  10. ground — a position
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. file — a tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mark — a grade
  15. tear — to rip
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mark — a trace
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. degree — from a university
  24. tear — from crying

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