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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — a phone
  3. hand — in cards
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. degree — from a university
  8. plane — a tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. season — in sport
  11. mug — a cup
  12. season — of the year
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mug — a face
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. hand — help
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. mug — to rob

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