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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. track — a song
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rule — government
  12. degree — temperature
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. hand — help
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. rule — a law
  22. track — a path
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — to drill

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