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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: fan · bore · degree · board · pop · bark · key · ground

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. ground — the earth
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bore — to drill
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ground — crushed
  7. key — in music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. key — the most important part
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ground — a position
  14. board — a committee
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. board — to get on
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pop — soda
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pop — music

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