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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. season — of the year
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. tear — to rip
  17. season — in sport
  18. degree — temperature

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