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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rash — a series
  13. degree — temperature
  14. land — a country
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wound — an injury
  19. land — to come down
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rash — hasty
  23. land — ground
  24. degree — an amount

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