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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ground — crushed
  6. season — in sport
  7. ground — the earth
  8. kick — in football
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. spring — the season
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. spring — of water
  14. band — a music group
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. band — a ring
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. season — of the year
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. ground — a position
  23. spring — a coil
  24. ruler — a monarch

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