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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. degree — temperature
  3. net — after costs
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. net — for catching
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. stock — shares
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. net — in sport
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stock — goods
  13. toast — bread
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. object — an aim
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. wound — an injury
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bark — to shout
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wound — an injury
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. object — a thing

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