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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. net — in sport
  4. foot — a measure
  5. ground — the earth
  6. field — a subject
  7. degree — temperature
  8. net — after costs
  9. field — farmland
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — an amount
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. ground — a position
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — for catching
  21. degree — from a university
  22. field — for sport
  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