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

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fall — the season
  7. club — for golf
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — an amount
  12. club — for dancing
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. club — a group
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop

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