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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. club — a group
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. face — to confront
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bass — the fish
  10. face — part of the head
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bass — low music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. degree — an amount
  19. club — for golf
  20. prune — to trim
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. face — to point toward

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