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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. row — a line
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. row — to paddle
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. board — a committee
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. clip — a video
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bark — to shout
  14. board — to get on
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — temperature
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. degree — an amount

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