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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bark — to shout
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. kick — in football
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. degree — temperature
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. chip — for betting
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. degree — from a university
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pit — in a race
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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