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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — a friend
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. staff — employees
  7. spell — magic
  8. season — in sport
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mate — a partner
  12. degree — temperature
  13. spell — letters
  14. staff — a stick
  15. last — final
  16. spell — a short time
  17. degree — from a university
  18. season — of the year
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. last — to go on
  22. mate — to breed
  23. last — finally
  24. kick — in football

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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