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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cue — a signal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. last — finally
  8. race — the arms race
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cue — for pool
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — final
  16. can — to be able to
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. can — a tin
  19. cue — a hint
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tear — from crying
  22. degree — an amount
  23. last — to go on
  24. season — to add flavour

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