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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. rash — hasty
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ground — a position
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rash — a series
  8. degree — temperature
  9. march — music
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. march — the month
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. ground — crushed
  22. degree — from a university
  23. march — the month
  24. racket — for tennis

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