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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. foot — a measure
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bear — the animal
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. object — a thing
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bark — to shout
  16. object — to protest
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. foot — part of the body

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