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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. season — of the year
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — in sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. degree — an amount
  7. tear — to rip
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cold — an illness
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tear — from crying
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. sharp — clever

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