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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. squash — the sport
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. degree — from a university
  10. shower — to wash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. snap — to click
  13. row — to paddle
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bark — to shout
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. squash — to crush
  20. row — a line
  21. shower — rain
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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