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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. present — a gift
  6. perch — the fish
  7. present — the time now
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. swing — in golf
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bark — to shout
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. degree — from a university
  17. swing — music
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — temperature
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. present — there
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. swing — to play on

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