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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bear — the animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fine — all right
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wound — an injury
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wound — an injury
  21. saw — the tool
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. saw — the tool
  24. toast — bread

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