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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. degree — an amount
  4. key — in music
  5. fine — all right
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. shower — to wash
  8. firm — steady
  9. scale — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. firm — decided
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — temperature
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. firm — a company
  18. degree — from a university
  19. key — for a lock
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. shower — rain
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. scale — size or range

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