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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 124 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mate — a friend
  3. ground — the earth
  4. shower — to wash
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ground — a position
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chip — for betting
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pound — a weight
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chip — to eat
  19. shower — rain
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mate — to breed
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mate — a partner

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