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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 120 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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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. season — in sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pop — music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bass — low music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bass — the fish
  24. season — of the year

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