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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. ground — crushed
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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