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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. court — of law
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fall — to drop
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. fall — the season
  7. degree — an amount
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. court — of a king
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fall — to drop
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bark — to shout
  20. court — for sport
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cell — in biology
  23. dip — to sink
  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