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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: object · bark · patient · staff · degree · land · pop · fall

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pop — music
  3. staff — employees
  4. object — an aim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. staff — employees
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — to come down
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. object — a thing
  14. land — a country
  15. object — to protest
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. fall — to drop
  18. staff — a stick
  19. fall — the season
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pop — soda
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. land — ground

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