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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. net — for catching
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. net — after costs
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. current — electric
  8. spring — of water
  9. tube — a container
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bark — to shout
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. current — of water
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. net — in sport
  18. spring — a coil
  19. current — happening now
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. spring — the season

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