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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ground — crushed
  4. degree — an amount
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. game — a match
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bore — to drill
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. ground — the earth
  18. game — wild animals
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bass — low music
  22. ground — a position
  23. bore — to tire
  24. leaves — lets stay

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