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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. deal — to handle
  5. degree — from a university
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. degree — an amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bass — low music
  13. content — the amount
  14. branch — a division
  15. key — in music
  16. content — happy
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. key — for a lock
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. bark — to shout
  22. march — music
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. bark — of a tree

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