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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — an injury
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bound — certain
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bound — obliged
  12. press — to push
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. press — newspapers
  18. pass — a permit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. spring — of water

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