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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. degree — an amount
  3. object — a thing
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lie — to recline
  11. season — in sport
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lean — thin
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. craft — boats
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. craft — a skill
  22. season — of the year
  23. cold — an illness
  24. object — to protest

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