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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. staff — employees
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bass — low music
  10. staff — employees
  11. stock — shares
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. stock — goods
  20. bass — the fish
  21. race — a contest
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rock — a stone
  24. degree — temperature

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