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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. game — wild animals
  4. season — of the year
  5. saw — the tool
  6. season — in sport
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mate — to breed
  9. saw — the tool
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lie — to recline
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mate — a partner
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mate — a friend
  18. degree — an amount
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kid — to tease
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. kid — child
  23. game — a match
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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