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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. ground — crushed
  5. snap — to click
  6. mate — to breed
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bass — low music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bass — the fish
  14. scale — in music
  15. deal — to handle
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mine — for digging

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