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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — a position
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. mine — for digging
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ground — crushed
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. degree — from a university
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. club — for golf
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. club — a group
  22. game — wild animals
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. safe — out of danger

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