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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spring — a coil
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. date — the fruit
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — a thing
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. degree — from a university
  19. object — an aim
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bark — to shout

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