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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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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. ground — the earth
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. degree — an amount
  8. plane — a tool
  9. ground — crushed
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — temperature
  12. march — music
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — from a university
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. season — of the year
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. ground — a position
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stem — of a plant

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