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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. degree — from a university
  4. capital — money
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mine — for digging
  13. capital — a city
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. season — of the year
  20. rush — hurry
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. game — a match
  24. wake — a trail

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