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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. 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. rest — what's left
  2. season — of the year
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cap — a lid
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — a break
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rash — hasty
  14. season — in sport
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — of ice
  17. tear — to rip
  18. 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