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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ball — a dance
  7. pop — soda
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pop — music
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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