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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. file — a tool
  3. press — to push
  4. file — a document
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. club — for dancing
  7. file — a line of people
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. press — newspapers
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. club — a group
  16. march — music
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bark — to shout
  19. march — the month
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. march — the month
  23. club — for golf
  24. press — a publisher

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