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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — a country
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. present — the time now
  8. spring — of water
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — ground
  12. present — there
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ball — a dance
  16. degree — from a university
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. present — a gift
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — a stone
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. degree — an amount

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