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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. last — final
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. degree — from a university
  7. season — in sport
  8. bound — tied together
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bound — obliged
  14. last — finally
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pitch — completely
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. last — to go on
  19. degree — an amount
  20. season — of the year
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bound — certain

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