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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rule — a law
  13. wound — an injury
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. rule — government
  17. wound — an injury
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bark — to shout
  20. net — after costs
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. net — for catching
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. net — in sport

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