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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rock — music
  4. court — of a king
  5. field — farmland
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. field — for sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. degree — an amount
  17. court — of law
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — to shout
  23. court — for sport
  24. degree — temperature

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