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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rest — a break
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. net — after costs
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ground — a position
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stem — of a plant

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