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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. shower — to wash
  4. game — wild animals
  5. present — a gift
  6. track — a path
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. present — the time now
  9. bark — to shout
  10. track — to keep track
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. degree — from a university
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. game — a match
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. track — a song
  24. can — a tin

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