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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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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: trunk · degree · bank · pit · face · tear · mate · bark

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bank — for money
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. tear — from crying
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. face — part of the head
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pit — in a race
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bank — for money
  16. face — to point toward
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pit — a hole
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bank — of a river
  23. face — to confront
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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