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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bound — certain
  5. bark — to shout
  6. fork — in a road
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. plane — a tool
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bat — the animal

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