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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. fork — in a road
  5. spell — letters
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bark — to shout
  8. chip — to eat
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chip — for betting
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mate — a friend
  18. spell — magic

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