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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 120 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
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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: face · mouse · wake · bark · track · degree · bat · mine

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. degree — from a university
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mine — for digging
  20. face — to confront
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. track — to keep track

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