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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. club — for dancing
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. club — a group
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — a position
  15. club — for golf
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. degree — temperature
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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