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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. spell — letters
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. degree — from a university
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pound — a weight
  12. lie — to recline
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a song
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade
  19. spell — a short time
  20. track — a path
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bark — to shout
  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