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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. degree — from a university
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. bear — the animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ground — a position

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