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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bark — to shout
  3. drill — the tool
  4. lie — to recline
  5. field — farmland
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. field — for sport
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bank — for money
  14. content — happy
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. firm — decided
  17. content — the amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. field — a subject
  20. firm — a company
  21. firm — steady
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. lie — an untruth

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