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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 116 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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bark — to shout
  3. drill — a practice
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — temperature
  8. drill — army training
  9. degree — from a university
  10. board — a committee
  11. kid — child
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pop — soda
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pop — music
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. board — to get on
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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