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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. spring — of water
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spring — a coil
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. perch — the fish
  17. ground — the earth
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spring — the season
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — an amount

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