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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. degree — from a university
  3. season — in sport
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bank — for money
  6. march — the month
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. snap — to click
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. march — the month
  15. key — in music
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. degree — temperature
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. march — music
  20. bank — for money
  21. season — of the year
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — the most important part
  24. wound — an injury

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