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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. degree — an amount
  3. row — a line
  4. bank — of a river
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cue — a hint
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — temperature
  14. row — to paddle
  15. band — a music group
  16. bank — for money
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. bank — for money

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