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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pop — soda
  3. season — in sport
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mine — for digging
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. board — to get on
  13. season — of the year
  14. wound — an injury
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — an amount
  19. board — a committee
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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