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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. ground — the earth
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. key — for a lock
  4. kid — child
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ground — crushed
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cell — in biology
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. ground — a position
  15. cell — a phone
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rash — a series
  18. key — in music
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. degree — from a university
  23. key — the most important part
  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