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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 116 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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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: degree · bear · band · fork · mate · kick · face · bark

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. face — to confront
  3. band — a music group
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. band — a ring
  6. bear — the animal
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. mate — to breed
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kick — in football
  16. face — to point toward
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bark — to shout
  24. mate — a friend

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