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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bark — to shout
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. degree — an amount
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. calf — a young animal

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