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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. present — there
  4. ground — crushed
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. present — a gift
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pound — a weight
  16. present — the time now
  17. degree — an amount
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. ground — a position
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ground — the earth
  24. deal — to handle

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