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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 120 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. content — happy
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rash — a series
  15. root — of a plant
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. season — of the year
  19. root — the cause
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — hasty
  22. content — the amount
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. root — of a word

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