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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. bark — to shout
  4. board — a committee
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. prune — to trim
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. clip — to cut
  10. root — the cause
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. clip — a video
  13. prune — to trim
  14. board — to get on
  15. pop — soda
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bat — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. root — of a word

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