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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pop — soda
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. current — electric
  6. ground — a position
  7. track — a song
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — of water
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. track — to keep track
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. degree — temperature
  18. snap — to click
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bark — to shout
  21. track — a path
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. hide — to keep secret

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