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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. net — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. net — after costs
  5. degree — from a university
  6. race — a contest
  7. shower — to wash
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. race — humankind
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift
  19. race — the arms race
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. net — for catching
  23. degree — an amount
  24. season — in sport

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