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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. bark — to shout
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — steady
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. chest — a box
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tube — the underground
  19. hand — help
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tube — a container
  23. firm — a company
  24. land — to come down

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