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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 124 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ground — the earth
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bulb — for light
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ground — crushed
  24. degree — from a university

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