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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. game — wild animals
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. drill — a practice
  9. game — a match
  10. drill — army training
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. content — happy
  17. degree — temperature
  18. lie — to recline
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. ball — a dance
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. content — the amount
  23. drill — the tool
  24. date — on the calendar

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