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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. drill — army training
  3. degree — from a university
  4. track — a song
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. season — of the year
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cap — a lid
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cap — of ice
  12. date — the fruit
  13. rest — a break
  14. drill — the tool
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rest — what's left
  18. track — a path
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cap — a hat
  22. rash — a series
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rash — hasty

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