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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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 — a position
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. branch — a division
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bark — to shout
  19. degree — from a university
  20. snap — to click
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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