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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. snap — to click
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. game — a match
  5. degree — from a university
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mate — to breed
  8. lean — to bend
  9. degree — an amount
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. drill — the tool
  12. mate — a friend
  13. lean — thin
  14. mate — a partner
  15. toast — bread
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. bark — to shout
  20. degree — temperature
  21. drill — a practice
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. drill — army training
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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