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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rock — a stone
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kid — to tease
  7. ground — a position
  8. kid — child
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. snap — to click
  15. chest — a box
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. spell — magic
  20. rock — music
  21. pound — a weight
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pound — for dogs

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