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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. degree — an amount
  5. field — for sport
  6. hand — in cards
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. field — a subject
  11. degree — from a university
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pound — a weight
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bulb — for light
  18. staff — employees
  19. field — farmland
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. clip — a video
  23. bulb — for light
  24. staff — employees

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