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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bark — to shout
  3. degree — from a university
  4. march — the month
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — an amount
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. hand — help
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. board — to get on
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wake — a trail
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — a committee

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