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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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468
Word bank
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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. season — of the year
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bear — the animal
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wax — to grow
  15. season — in sport
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. degree — from a university
  19. net — for catching
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. wax — in the ear

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