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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stock — goods
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fine — high quality
  10. stock — shares
  11. degree — an amount
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. degree — from a university
  15. file — a tool
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. fine — all right
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. rock — a stone
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. tube — a container
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rock — music
  24. sharp — clever

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