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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. chair — a leader
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. net — in sport
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — for catching
  13. tube — the underground
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. net — after costs
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. temple — a place of worship

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