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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. season — of the year
  5. fork — in a road
  6. chair — a leader
  7. scale — in music
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. stock — shares
  11. scale — size or range
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. degree — temperature
  15. season — in sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wound — an injury
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chair — a professorship

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