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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 all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. suit — to fit
  7. suit — clothes
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. field — farmland
  11. suit — in cards
  12. sharp — clever
  13. field — a subject
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. field — for sport
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. chip — in a computer
  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