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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. degree — an amount
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. degree — from a university
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rash — hasty
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rash — a series
  19. snap — to click
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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