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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bulb — for light
  7. last — finally
  8. season — of the year
  9. cue — a hint
  10. last — final
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cue — a signal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. mine — for digging
  22. last — to go on
  23. degree — from a university
  24. safe — out of danger

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