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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. band — a music group
  3. stand — to bear
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. staff — employees
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pound — a weight
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. key — for a lock
  12. band — a ring
  13. degree — from a university
  14. key — the most important part
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bark — to shout
  17. key — in music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. staff — employees
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pound — for dogs
  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