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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. present — a gift
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. present — there
  13. bat — the animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — a match
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — an amount
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pop — to visit
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. present — the time now

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