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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. board — to get on
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rush — hurry
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. game — wild animals
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. degree — temperature
  10. game — a match
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. swing — music
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. degree — an amount
  20. prune — to trim
  21. board — a committee
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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