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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. board — a committee
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cold — not warm
  6. degree — from a university
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pop — soda
  10. board — to get on
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. lean — thin
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. squash — to crush
  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