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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. club — for golf
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — in sport
  5. staff — a stick
  6. current — electric
  7. season — of the year
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stem — to come from
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. club — a group
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. current — of water
  15. game — a match
  16. staff — employees
  17. bark — to shout
  18. degree — an amount
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. current — happening now
  22. staff — employees
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. club — for dancing

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