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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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. degree — temperature
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. tube — the underground
  6. current — electric
  7. game — wild animals
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. current — of water
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. current — happening now
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bark — to shout
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. game — a match

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