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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chip — to eat
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. season — in sport
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. degree — temperature
  10. season — of the year
  11. degree — an amount
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. march — music
  15. cell — a phone
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cell — in biology
  18. degree — from a university
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. scale — in music
  22. march — the month
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cell — in a prison

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