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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. object — to protest
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cap — a lid
  8. clip — to cut
  9. degree — from a university
  10. season — of the year
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. season — in sport
  13. degree — temperature
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. object — a thing
  19. rush — hurry
  20. clip — a video
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. land — ground
  23. object — an aim
  24. rush — a thrill

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