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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. game — a match
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — from a university
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. clip — to cut
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. game — a kind of play

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