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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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 — to add flavour
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tube — a container
  4. rest — what's left
  5. club — for golf
  6. degree — temperature
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rest — a break
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. sharp — clever
  12. club — a group
  13. season — of the year
  14. degree — an amount
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. season — in sport
  17. pass — a permit
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. club — for dancing
  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