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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. degree — from a university
  4. toast — bread
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rash — a series
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wind — moving air

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