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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 116 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: bark · file · degree · land · leaves · kid · key · face

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. file — a document
  6. degree — an amount
  7. file — a line of people
  8. kid — child
  9. key — the most important part
  10. bark — to shout
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — temperature
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. face — to confront
  19. land — a country
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. file — a tool
  24. land — ground

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