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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. staff — employees
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. bear — the animal
  8. staff — employees
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bass — low music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. staff — a stick
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bear — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bass — the fish
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. squash — to crush
  24. dip — to sink

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