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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. club — for golf
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. bark — to shout
  10. stand — to bear
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chair — a leader
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rash — a series
  22. wake — a trail
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. club — a group

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