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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fine — high quality
  3. season — of the year
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. fine — all right
  6. lean — thin
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. season — in sport
  12. root — the cause
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. lie — to recline
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. root — of a word
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lean — to bend
  24. root — 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