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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 ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. suit — to fit
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. suit — clothes
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bark — to shout
  16. suit — in cards
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. degree — from a university

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