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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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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: deal · hide · face · bark · degree · fall · pitcher · craft

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fall — to drop
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. deal — to handle
  7. craft — boats
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fall — the season
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. face — to point toward
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. craft — a skill
  21. face — to confront
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. fall — to drop
  24. degree — an amount

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