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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: wind · rash · foot · degree · bank · staff · bark · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. degree — from a university
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bank — for money
  5. wind — moving air
  6. staff — employees
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bank — for money
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bank — of a river
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. staff — employees
  20. rash — a series
  21. staff — a stick
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rash — on the skin

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