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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. club — a group
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. fork — in a road
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bark — to shout
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. degree — an amount
  20. club — for golf
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bore — to tire
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fork — to eat with

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