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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pit — a hole
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bass — low music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — money
  8. pit — in a race
  9. capital — a city
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bass — the fish
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. net — after costs
  23. fall — the season
  24. ruler — for measuring

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