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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. band — a ring
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. can — a tin
  6. squash — to crush
  7. can — to be able to
  8. ball — a dance
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. band — a music group
  12. tear — to rip
  13. degree — an amount
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — after costs
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bark — to shout
  19. squash — the sport
  20. can — a tin
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. band — a rubber band

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