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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. prune — to trim
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. chip — to eat
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chair — a leader
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. date — the fruit
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mark — a grade
  24. chair — to sit on

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