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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cap — of ice
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. track — a song
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cold — an illness
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bark — to shout
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. degree — from a university
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cap — a hat

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