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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. season — in sport
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. capital — a city
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mark — a trace
  10. capital — money
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pass — a permit
  23. mark — a grade
  24. fan — a supporter

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