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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bass — the fish
  6. march — music
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. firm — steady
  12. bass — low music
  13. degree — from a university
  14. firm — decided
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. game — a match
  18. degree — temperature
  19. march — the month
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. firm — a company
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. march — the month
  24. perch — the fish

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