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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. march — music
  5. bark — to shout
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. march — the month
  10. season — of the year
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — to tease
  20. season — in sport
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mouse — the animal

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