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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. degree — from a university
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bat — the animal
  12. row — to paddle
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. cell — a phone
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. row — a line
  23. firm — a company
  24. dip — to sink

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