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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. bay — to keep at bay
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — temperature
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. snap — to click
  6. march — the month
  7. season — of the year
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. wound — an injury
  11. season — in sport
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. game — a match
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. degree — an amount
  23. coach — a trainer
  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