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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. track — a path
  3. lie — to recline
  4. degree — an amount
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bark — to shout
  9. degree — from a university
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. track — a song
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. lie — an untruth

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