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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. last — final
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rest — a break
  8. degree — temperature
  9. last — finally
  10. mine — for digging
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — to go on
  18. rest — what's left
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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