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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ground — a position
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. ground — crushed
  6. track — to keep track
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fork — in a road
  18. row — a line
  19. track — a path
  20. row — to paddle
  21. degree — an amount
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. track — a song

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