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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. last — to go on
  4. season — in sport
  5. degree — temperature
  6. date — the fruit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. last — final
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. degree — from a university
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. season — of the year
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. last — finally

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