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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rash — a series
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chest — a box
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rash — hasty
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bark — to shout
  21. prune — to trim
  22. toast — bread
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. prune — the fruit

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