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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. season — of the year
  4. clip — to cut
  5. degree — an amount
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mark — a grade
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mark — a trace
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. season — in sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. fan — a supporter

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