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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bass — low music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. kid — to tease
  10. lean — to bend
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bass — the fish
  13. track — a song
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. lean — thin
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. current — happening now
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bark — to shout
  23. track — a path
  24. kid — child

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