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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. lean — thin
  3. bore — to drill
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — temperature
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — a trail
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. swing — in golf
  19. lean — to bend
  20. swing — music
  21. staff — employees
  22. degree — from a university
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. degree — an amount

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