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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. degree — an amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rest — what's left
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rest — a break
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wound — an injury
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — what's left
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. land — ground
  24. season — in sport

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