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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 124 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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. rock — a stone
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. mark — a grade
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mine — for digging
  11. degree — an amount
  12. capital — a city
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rock — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. snap — to click
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. capital — money

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