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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. spell — magic
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wound — an injury
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. spell — letters
  8. degree — from a university
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — an aim
  16. mate — a partner
  17. season — of the year
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. season — in sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mate — a friend
  24. object — to protest

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