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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. plane — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rest — a break
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ground — a position
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — temperature
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. craft — boats
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. degree — an amount
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. degree — from a university

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