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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 120 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. saw — the tool
  5. club — for dancing
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rash — a series
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. board — a committee
  11. club — a group
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rash — hasty
  15. board — to get on
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bark — to shout
  22. club — for golf
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. degree — temperature

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