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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. band — a music group
  3. track — a song
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pitch — completely
  8. rush — hurry
  9. charge — a price
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. charge — electricity
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. band — a ring
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. degree — from a university
  21. charge — in control
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bark — of a tree

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