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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bulb — for light
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bound — tied together
  6. lean — thin
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wax — to grow
  11. last — final
  12. bound — certain
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bulb — for light
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — in sport
  21. lean — to bend
  22. capital — money
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. degree — from a university

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