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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bound — tied together
  3. squash — the sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tear — to rip
  9. court — of a king
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — certain
  12. squash — to crush
  13. degree — an amount
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. branch — a division
  20. bound — obliged
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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