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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rock — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. field — a subject
  8. shower — rain
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bark — to shout
  11. field — farmland
  12. fine — all right
  13. rock — a stone
  14. field — for sport
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. swing — music
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pass — a permit
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bark — of a tree

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