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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. season — of the year
  3. content — the amount
  4. swing — to play on
  5. suit — to fit
  6. spring — of water
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. spring — the season
  9. race — a contest
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. race — humankind
  18. spring — a coil
  19. content — happy
  20. suit — clothes
  21. suit — in cards
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. season — in sport
  24. degree — an amount

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