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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bark — to shout
  8. charge — a price
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. spell — magic
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. last — final
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. last — to go on
  18. degree — temperature
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. charge — in control
  21. degree — from a university
  22. charge — electricity
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. last — finally

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