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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ground — the earth
  3. charge — electricity
  4. tube — the underground
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. shower — rain
  9. spring — a coil
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. shower — to wash
  17. tube — a container
  18. charge — in control
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — for sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. field — a subject
  23. charge — a price
  24. ground — crushed

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