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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bark — to shout
  4. march — the month
  5. object — a thing
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. object — to protest
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rock — a stone
  15. object — an aim
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. rock — music
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bat — in an idiom

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