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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pass — a permit
  4. staff — employees
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. object — an aim
  8. degree — from a university
  9. court — of law
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. object — to protest
  12. staff — employees
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. object — a thing
  18. scale — in music
  19. court — for sport
  20. staff — a stick
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. degree — temperature

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