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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bark — to shout
  9. spring — of water
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. degree — temperature
  16. spring — the season
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. degree — from a university

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