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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 120 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. bowl — a football final
  3. track — to keep track
  4. craft — boats
  5. season — in sport
  6. track — a path
  7. craft — a skill
  8. band — a music group
  9. chip — to eat
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — for betting
  18. track — a song
  19. band — a ring
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a rubber band
  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