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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. degree — an amount
  4. sharp — clever
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. ground — crushed
  10. prune — to trim
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. field — a subject
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bark — to shout
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. field — for sport
  22. perch — the fish
  23. field — farmland
  24. ground — a position

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