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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. degree — temperature
  3. object — a thing
  4. spell — magic
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. bark — to shout
  7. foot — a measure
  8. ground — a position
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. degree — an amount
  12. object — to protest
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. object — an aim
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. ground — the earth
  21. degree — from a university
  22. band — a music group
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bark — of a tree

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