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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bore — to tire
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cue — a signal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. board — to get on
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cue — a hint
  22. board — a committee
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wound — an injury

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