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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. craft — a skill
  3. toast — bread
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — rain
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bark — to shout
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wax — to grow
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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