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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. plane — a tool
  5. swing — music
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. degree — temperature
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. court — for sport
  11. degree — from a university
  12. court — of a king
  13. bank — for money
  14. hand — in cards
  15. swing — in golf
  16. stock — goods
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. court — of law
  20. stock — shares
  21. bark — to shout
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bank — for money

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