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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. degree — an amount
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. race — humankind
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. race — the arms race
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. branch — a division
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bark — to shout
  16. spell — a short time
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. race — a contest
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bowl — to roll

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