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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bark — to shout
  3. degree — temperature
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fork — in a road
  6. land — to come down
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. ground — crushed
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. spell — letters
  15. scale — size or range
  16. land — a country
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stock — goods
  22. land — ground
  23. stock — shares
  24. scale — in music

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