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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. court — of law
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — temperature
  6. court — for sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — an illness
  10. perch — the fish
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. dip — to sink
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bark — to shout
  21. court — of a king
  22. row — a line
  23. cold — not warm
  24. dip — to dunk

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