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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. court — of a king
  4. row — a line
  5. track — a song
  6. row — to paddle
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. court — for sport
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bark — to shout
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. degree — temperature
  17. track — a path
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mate — a partner
  23. court — of law
  24. saw — the tool

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