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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. season — of the year
  3. degree — from a university
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. roll — a list
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. wind — moving air
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rock — music
  17. march — music
  18. roll — a cake
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. march — the month
  22. rock — a stone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. march — the month

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