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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 116 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 my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wind — moving air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. craft — a skill
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pound — a weight
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. degree — an amount
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. degree — from a university

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