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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. present — the time now
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. band — a ring
  9. degree — from a university
  10. saw — the tool
  11. club — for dancing
  12. season — in sport
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. band — a music group
  19. club — for golf
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mine — for digging
  22. club — a group
  23. degree — an amount
  24. saw — the tool

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