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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. season — of the year
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — a leader
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. key — in music
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — the most important part
  19. capital — a city
  20. season — in sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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