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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. fall — the season
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. court — of a king
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. degree — from a university
  9. branch — a division
  10. club — for dancing
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. season — of the year
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mate — to breed
  15. fall — to drop
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. club — a group
  18. fall — to drop
  19. club — for golf
  20. court — for sport
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rule — a law
  23. season — in sport
  24. court — of law

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