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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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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: bat · fork · jam · key · bowl · degree · bark · clip

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. degree — an amount
  8. key — in music
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. key — the most important part
  11. clip — for paper
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. key — for a lock
  14. clip — a video
  15. fork — in a road
  16. degree — from a university
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — a football final

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