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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. content — happy
  3. degree — an amount
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. key — in music
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rock — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bark — to shout
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. shower — rain
  23. degree — from a university
  24. leaves — lets stay

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