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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bound — certain
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pitch — completely
  6. sharp — clever
  7. object — to protest
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. object — an aim
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bound — tied together
  13. plane — a tool
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. degree — temperature
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bark — to shout
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. object — a thing
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. pitch — a sports field

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