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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. track — a path
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. ground — crushed
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. hand — help
  9. ground — the earth
  10. degree — from a university
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. ground — a position
  13. hand — in cards
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bark — to shout
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. date — the fruit
  19. staff — a stick
  20. squash — the sport
  21. degree — an amount
  22. track — a song
  23. squash — to crush
  24. track — to keep track

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