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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: pitch · cabinet · degree · face · deal · bat · mark · bark

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. face — to confront
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitch — completely
  11. face — to point toward
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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