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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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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. spring — the season
  3. degree — an amount
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. degree — temperature
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — electricity
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — from a university
  17. club — a group
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — a position
  20. charge — in control
  21. spring — of water
  22. bark — to shout
  23. club — for golf
  24. sharp — clever

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