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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bark — to shout
  6. stem — to come from
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — child
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. foot — a measure
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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