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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pop — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. date — the fruit
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mate — to breed
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bat — the animal
  24. date — on the calendar

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