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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. staff — employees
  8. perch — the fish
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spell — a short time
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. staff — employees
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stock — goods
  18. sharp — clever
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spell — letters
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pop — soda
  23. degree — an amount
  24. sharp — exactly

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