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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. last — final
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ground — a position
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pound — a weight
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. last — to go on
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. press — to push
  22. degree — from a university
  23. last — finally
  24. safe — a strongbox

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