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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. degree — temperature
  3. craft — boats
  4. mine — for digging
  5. staff — employees
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. craft — a skill
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. net — for catching
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. net — after costs
  15. chair — a leader
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. net — in sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. degree — from a university
  23. staff — employees
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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