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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. season — in sport
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — boats
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — temperature
  12. kick — in football
  13. field — for sport
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — farmland
  19. prune — to trim
  20. field — a subject
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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