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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. object — to protest
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — a country
  8. hand — help
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. degree — temperature
  11. ground — crushed
  12. land — ground
  13. cue — a signal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cue — a hint
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. ground — the earth
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cue — for pool
  21. land — to come down
  22. object — a thing
  23. dip — to sink
  24. object — an aim

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