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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mug — a face
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. degree — from a university
  8. club — a group
  9. mug — to rob
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. shower — rain
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bass — the fish
  16. club — for golf
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. swing — in golf
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. degree — an amount
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bass — low music

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