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

Word bank: bear · fork · degree · cap · ground · squash · bowl · face

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. ground — the earth
  8. squash — the sport
  9. ground — a position
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cap — a hat
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. face — to confront
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. degree — from a university

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