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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. capital — a city
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. rash — a series
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. suit — in cards
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. season — in sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. suit — to fit
  18. degree — temperature
  19. suit — clothes
  20. capital — money
  21. wax — to grow
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. foot — a measure
  24. wax — for sculpting

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