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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. field — a subject
  4. march — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. key — the most important part
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. key — for a lock
  11. bark — to shout
  12. key — in music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stem — to come from
  17. march — the month
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. field — for sport
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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