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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: scale · face · leaves · fine · bark · wake · degree · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. degree — temperature
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bark — to shout
  8. face — to point toward
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wake — a trail
  13. tube — a container
  14. scale — in music
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. scale — size or range
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fine — high quality
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. fine — all right
  22. degree — from a university
  23. face — to confront
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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