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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. march — music
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. suit — to fit
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. degree — temperature
  9. spring — the season
  10. suit — clothes
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — the earth
  16. dip — to sink
  17. last — to go on
  18. march — the month
  19. last — final
  20. suit — in cards
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. chair — a leader
  23. last — finally
  24. degree — an amount

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