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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. current — electric
  7. mine — for digging
  8. current — of water
  9. can — a tin
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bound — certain
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. swing — in golf
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bound — obliged
  17. swing — music
  18. current — happening now
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. swing — to play on
  21. can — to be able to
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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