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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. field — farmland
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. field — a subject
  11. ground — a position
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rush — hurry
  19. mate — a partner
  20. field — for sport
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bat — the animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bat — in an idiom

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