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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bark — to shout
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. degree — temperature
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pop — soda
  16. degree — an amount
  17. club — a group
  18. mate — to breed
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. club — for golf
  21. pop — music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. lean — thin
  24. hand — part of the body

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