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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rock — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. field — farmland
  10. bear — the animal
  11. field — a subject
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mine — for digging
  24. field — for sport

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