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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pop — soda
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pop — to visit
  7. race — humankind
  8. track — a song
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. prune — to trim
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. prune — to trim
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. track — to keep track
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pop — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. track — a path
  23. mark — a grade
  24. swing — music

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