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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. march — the month
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. march — the month
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bark — to shout
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. march — music
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wave — of the sea

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