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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. degree — from a university
  6. club — a group
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. track — a song
  10. rash — hasty
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. chest — a box
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. chest — of your body
  24. club — for golf

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