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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 116 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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. hand — help
  4. degree — from a university
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. degree — an amount
  15. present — the time now
  16. mark — a grade
  17. present — there
  18. mark — a trace
  19. present — a gift
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. rash — a series
  24. bat — the animal

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