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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. band — a music group
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bark — to shout
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. band — a ring
  8. present — there
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — an amount
  14. season — in sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. capital — a city
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fall — the season
  19. degree — from a university
  20. present — a gift
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. capital — money
  23. fall — to drop
  24. present — the time now

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