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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. degree — temperature
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. club — for golf
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. degree — from a university
  13. club — a group
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. craft — boats
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pitch — completely
  19. degree — an amount
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. spring — a coil
  23. season — of the year
  24. club — for dancing

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