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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. staff — employees
  5. degree — temperature
  6. staff — a stick
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. scale — in music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. plane — a tool
  13. season — of the year
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. staff — employees
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. bark — to shout

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