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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 120 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: rest · degree · wake · row · bat · wind · cue · bark

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bark — to shout
  7. row — a line
  8. rest — a break
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wake — a trail
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cue — a hint
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cue — a signal
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cue — for pool

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