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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — from a university
  4. saw — the tool
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bank — of a river
  7. capital — a city
  8. key — the most important part
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. season — in sport
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. degree — an amount
  14. board — a committee
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. key — in music
  18. board — to get on
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bank — for money
  21. cell — in biology
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bank — for money

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