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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. can — a tin
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ground — crushed
  7. deal — to handle
  8. can — a tin
  9. ground — a position
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. can — to be able to
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pound — a weight
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pound — to hit hard

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