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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. degree — from a university
  3. race — humankind
  4. bark — to shout
  5. roll — a cake
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. mug — to rob
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. degree — temperature
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — an amount
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mug — a face
  19. season — of the year
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mug — a cup
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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