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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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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: degree · bat · cue · spell · temple · tear · foot · bark

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. degree — temperature
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cue — a hint
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spell — magic
  19. cue — for pool
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — an amount
  24. foot — part of the body

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