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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
468
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: mouse · bark · track · face · spring · degree · lie · dip

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. track — to keep track
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. dip — to sink
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. track — a song
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. lie — to recline
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bark — to shout
  22. spring — the season
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. track — a path

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