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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bulb — for light
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. degree — temperature
  7. face — to confront
  8. game — wild animals
  9. face — part of the head
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fall — to drop
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — a match
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bark — to shout
  24. ground — crushed

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