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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. pound — a weight
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. degree — from a university

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