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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bark — to shout
  9. lean — thin
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology

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