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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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pit — a hole
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. degree — from a university
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rest — a break
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. season — in sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. capital — money
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mine — for digging
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rest — what's left
  24. capital — a city

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