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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rush — hurry
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. pit — a hole
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. pit — in a race
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. capital — money
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. season — in sport
  17. stand — to bear
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. deal — to handle
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. capital — a city

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