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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 mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cue — a signal
  6. spell — a short time
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. spell — letters
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rash — hasty
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spell — magic
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rash — a series
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bark — to shout
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rash — on the skin

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