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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. toast — bread
  10. degree — temperature
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. degree — from a university
  15. roll — a list
  16. cold — an illness
  17. foot — a measure
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. roll — a cake
  21. craft — boats
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. plane — a tool

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