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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. degree — from a university
  4. vault — a safe
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bark — to shout
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. pit — a hole
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. rash — hasty
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pit — in a race
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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