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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wake — a trail
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. file — a line of people
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. ground — the earth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bank — for money
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bulb — for light
  12. file — a tool
  13. bank — of a river
  14. file — a document
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ground — a position
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bank — for money

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