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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. root — of a word
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. root — of a plant
  14. degree — from a university
  15. row — a line
  16. root — the cause
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. snap — to click
  24. row — a quarrel

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