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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. season — in sport
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ground — the earth
  7. scale — size or range
  8. can — to be able to
  9. scale — in music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ground — crushed
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. degree — temperature
  14. can — a tin
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. can — a tin
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. degree — an amount
  20. season — of the year
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. key — the most important part
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — not warm

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