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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitch — completely
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. charge — in control
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. land — to come down
  19. bark — to shout
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — a price
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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