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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: bark · date · staff · net · rock · last · degree · rash

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. staff — employees
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. last — finally
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. last — final
  11. rock — music
  12. net — in sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. net — for catching
  15. rock — a stone
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. net — after costs
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. date — the fruit
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bark — to shout
  24. last — to go on

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