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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · row · wave · degree · bark · ball · suit · face

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. degree — an amount
  3. face — to confront
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. suit — in cards
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. face — part of the head
  13. suit — clothes
  14. row — a line
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bark — to shout
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bat — the animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ball — a great time

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