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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. clip — a video
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bark — to shout

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