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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. degree — from a university
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. row — a line
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. season — of the year
  12. pitch — completely
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. season — in sport
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. kick — in football
  23. stand — to bear
  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