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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ground — a position
  5. net — for catching
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. foot — a measure
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. last — final
  15. staff — a stick
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. net — in sport
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. game — a match
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. net — after costs
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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