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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. season — of the year
  3. lean — thin
  4. mate — to breed
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. lean — to bend
  11. ground — crushed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — child
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mate — a friend

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