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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. spell — letters
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. spell — a short time
  8. fine — all right
  9. pitch — completely
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fine — high quality
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spell — magic
  18. calf — of the leg

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