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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. present — the time now
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rash — a series
  5. season — in sport
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. perch — the fish
  8. march — the month
  9. present — there
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. march — music
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. season — of the year
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rash — hasty
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. mine — for digging
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. present — a gift
  24. nail — for a hammer

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