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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. clip — a video
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bass — low music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bass — the fish
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — of water
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. current — electric
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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