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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. face — part of the head
  4. degree — from a university
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. fork — in a road
  12. band — a music group
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. degree — an amount
  16. face — to confront
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chip — to eat
  19. net — for catching
  20. bark — to shout
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. band — a ring

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