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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. shower — rain
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bass — low music
  11. season — of the year
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. season — in sport
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bass — the fish
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — crushed
  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