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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rock — a stone
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chair — a leader
  13. last — to go on
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. last — final
  18. track — a song
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. last — finally
  23. rock — music
  24. lean — to bend

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