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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 120 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mug — a cup
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. degree — temperature
  6. craft — a skill
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. spring — of water
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. spring — the season
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — to rob
  18. degree — an amount
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. craft — boats
  24. degree — from a university

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