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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bark — to shout
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. ground — a position
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. ball — a dance
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. current — electric
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. season — in sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ground — the earth
  22. season — of the year
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. degree — temperature

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