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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. degree — an amount
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bank — for money
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. game — wild animals
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spring — the season
  21. track — to keep track
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bank — for money
  24. degree — temperature

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