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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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468
Word bank
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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. scale — size or range
  5. degree — an amount
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kid — child
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. squash — the sport
  14. scale — in music
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bark — to shout
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. degree — temperature
  21. season — in sport
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. degree — from a university

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