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

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. 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. season — of the year
  2. degree — from a university
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — a tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — an amount
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. press — to push
  18. bore — to drill
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. bore — to tire
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. press — newspapers
  24. 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