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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. key — for a lock
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. degree — temperature
  9. season — of the year
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. key — in music
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. season — in sport
  21. bore — to tire
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. key — the most important part

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