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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: prune · deal · bat · degree · bark · temple · race · drill

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. race — a contest
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. degree — temperature
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. drill — army training
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bat — the animal
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. drill — a practice
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — from a university
  24. deal — an agreement

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