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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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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 · degree · field · sharp · face · fan · jam · bulb

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bark — to shout
  8. degree — an amount
  9. face — part of the head
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. field — farmland
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. degree — temperature
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. field — for sport
  23. bulb — for light
  24. field — a subject

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