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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pop — soda
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chip — to eat
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cell — in biology
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — a subject
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. ground — a position
  12. field — for sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pop — music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pop — to visit
  23. ground — the earth
  24. field — farmland

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