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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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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bore — to tire
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ground — the earth
  5. game — wild animals
  6. kick — in football
  7. degree — from a university
  8. game — a match
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lean — thin
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. kick — with a 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