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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spring — the season
  3. degree — from a university
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ground — a position
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. spring — of water
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — electricity
  15. swing — to play on
  16. charge — a price
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — the earth
  19. sharp — clever
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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