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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stand — to bear
  4. spring — of water
  5. degree — temperature
  6. track — a path
  7. ground — a position
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. spring — the season
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. ground — crushed
  16. track — a song
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bass — low music
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bass — the fish
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pound — a weight
  24. track — to keep track

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