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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. court — for sport
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. court — of law
  7. last — final
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — from a university
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — temperature
  13. last — finally
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bat — the animal
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. court — of a king
  19. degree — an amount
  20. toast — bread
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. last — to go on

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