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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 120 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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — a lid
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. degree — temperature
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cap — a hat
  13. degree — an amount
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wind — moving air
  20. season — in sport
  21. cap — of ice
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bass — low music

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