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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. net — after costs
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mug — to rob
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mug — a face
  8. degree — from a university
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. net — in sport
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. track — to keep track
  15. net — for catching
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. degree — temperature
  19. track — a path
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. key — for a lock
  23. track — a song
  24. plane — a tool

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