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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. degree — temperature
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. perch — the fish
  15. shower — to wash
  16. degree — from a university
  17. club — a group
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. face — to confront
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. degree — an amount
  24. shower — rain

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