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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: foot · fine · degree · land · straw · rule · bear · bark

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. land — to come down
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fine — all right
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bear — the animal
  11. land — ground
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rule — government
  17. land — a country
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rule — a law
  20. bear — the animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bear — to put up with

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