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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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468
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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. degree — from a university
  5. club — a group
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. club — for dancing
  8. snap — to click
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cell — in biology
  13. season — in sport
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spring — a coil
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. season — of the year
  18. club — for golf
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. spring — the season
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — of water
  23. racket — for tennis
  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