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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. ground — crushed
  3. degree — an amount
  4. content — the amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. last — to go on
  7. snap — to click
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. ground — a position
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bark — to shout
  12. ground — the earth
  13. degree — from a university
  14. content — happy
  15. last — finally
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. last — final
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bark — of a tree

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