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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — temperature
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bank — for money
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. clip — for paper
  17. row — a line
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. ball — a dance
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. file — a line of people
  24. row — a quarrel

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