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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 124 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — a practice
  7. prune — to trim
  8. can — to be able to
  9. drill — the tool
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. can — a tin
  13. capital — money
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. capital — a city
  17. mate — a partner
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. drill — army training
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lash — an eyelash

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