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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitcher · degree · mine · cabinet · leaves · last · rest · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. last — final
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. ground — a position
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. last — finally
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — to go on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rest — a break
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mine — an explosive

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