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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 rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bass — the fish
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bass — low music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. club — a group
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. rule — government
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bark — to shout
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rule — a law
  24. hide — to keep secret

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