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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bore — to tire
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rule — government
  6. rock — music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rock — a stone
  9. bear — the animal
  10. court — of a king
  11. rule — a law
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bore — to drill
  14. court — of law
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. court — for sport
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rule — to rule out

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