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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. object — an aim
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ground — the earth
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rash — hasty
  8. net — for catching
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rash — a series
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. net — after costs
  17. bass — low music
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — to protest
  21. bass — the fish
  22. net — in sport
  23. bark — to shout
  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