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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rest — what's left
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. season — in sport
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rest — what's left
  10. season — of the year
  11. scale — in music
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — to trim
  17. scale — size or range
  18. prune — to trim
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — to handle
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cold — an illness

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