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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. hand — help
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. degree — an amount
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — from a university
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. court — of law
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. bark — to shout

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