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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bass — low music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spell — letters
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. row — a line
  8. degree — an amount
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bass — the fish
  12. spell — magic
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. degree — temperature

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