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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fine — high quality
  3. root — of a word
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. file — a tool
  8. season — of the year
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bound — certain
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. file — a document
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pit — a hole
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pit — in a race
  18. kick — in football
  19. fine — all right
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bound — obliged
  22. degree — from a university
  23. root — the cause
  24. file — a line of people

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