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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. season — in sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — the arms race
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. charge — electricity
  11. scale — in music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. charge — in control
  15. rash — hasty
  16. race — a contest
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. race — humankind
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. dip — to sink
  22. charge — a price
  23. scale — size or range
  24. degree — from a university

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