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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. mate — a partner
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mate — a friend
  5. degree — temperature
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. band — a ring
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. band — a music group
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. lean — thin
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. degree — from a university
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bark — to shout
  24. mate — to breed

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