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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. march — the month
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. degree — from a university
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. mug — to rob
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. mug — a face
  14. degree — temperature
  15. march — music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mug — a cup
  24. march — the month

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