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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · bowl · bark · lean · squash · degree

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cell — in biology
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. lean — thin
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cell — in a prison

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