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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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. land — ground
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. court — of law
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. land — to come down
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. season — in sport
  12. court — for sport
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. degree — from a university
  21. court — of a king
  22. land — a country
  23. kick — in football
  24. season — to add flavour

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