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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bark — to shout
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. season — of the year
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pass — a permit
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chip — for betting
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a dance
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. degree — temperature
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chip — to eat

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