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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bear — the animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — an amount
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. file — a document
  15. plane — a tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. file — a tool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. plane — an aircraft

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