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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. staff — employees
  3. branch — a division
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. track — a song
  7. ball — a great time
  8. track — a path
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. ball — a dance
  14. staff — employees
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rest — a break
  20. degree — from a university
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rest — what's left

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