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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bark — to shout
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a dance
  17. drill — army training
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rest — what's left
  24. drill — a practice

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