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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. season — in sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. board — to get on
  8. land — to come down
  9. pass — a permit
  10. fall — the season
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. board — a committee
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. land — a country
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. land — ground
  21. degree — an amount
  22. last — to go on
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. degree — temperature

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