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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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. dip — a sauce
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. last — final
  6. rock — a stone
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bark — to shout
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — to go on
  17. craft — boats
  18. last — finally
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. degree — an amount
  22. dip — to sink
  23. rock — music
  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