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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. race — humankind
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bore — to drill
  6. clip — for paper
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mine — for digging
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. hand — in cards
  12. race — a contest
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stock — goods
  15. degree — an amount
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hand — help
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. clip — a video
  22. stock — shares
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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