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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 120 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. land — a country
  3. net — for catching
  4. degree — an amount
  5. land — to come down
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. game — wild animals
  9. net — in sport
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. land — ground
  12. ground — crushed
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. net — after costs
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — a match
  20. bark — to shout
  21. mate — a partner
  22. ground — a position
  23. mate — a friend
  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