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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — to go on
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. last — final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. cue — for pool
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. last — finally
  24. degree — from a university

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