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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. degree — an amount
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. drill — a practice
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. kid — to tease
  10. drill — the tool
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — child
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — a city
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. drill — army training
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. season — to add flavour
  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