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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spell — magic
  4. season — in sport
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. present — a gift
  7. land — a country
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. season — of the year
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. spell — letters
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — clever
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. spell — a short time
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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