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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — ground
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bark — to shout
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. shower — rain
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. track — a song
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fork — in a road
  16. track — a path
  17. shower — to wash
  18. land — to come down
  19. lie — to recline
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. vault — a safe
  23. land — a country
  24. track — to keep track

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