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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. present — a gift
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. capital — a city
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — for betting
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. stem — to come from
  18. season — in sport
  19. pit — in a race
  20. season — of the year
  21. plane — a tool
  22. capital — money
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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