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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bound — certain
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pop — to visit
  8. season — of the year
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bound — obliged
  11. game — a match
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kick — in football
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bound — tied together
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. game — wild animals

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