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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. degree — temperature
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ground — the earth
  9. scale — size or range
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rule — a law
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. ground — a position
  16. season — of the year
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. season — in sport
  21. scale — in music
  22. pitch — completely
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. rule — government

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