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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bark — to shout
  7. staff — a stick
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. degree — from a university
  11. field — a subject
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. staff — employees
  16. field — farmland
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cap — a lid
  22. degree — temperature
  23. field — for sport
  24. pass — to spend time

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