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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 · nail · wound · degree · date · dip · jam · game

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. degree — temperature
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. dip — to sink
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. game — a match
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. date — the fruit
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wound — an injury
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. game — wild animals

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