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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — of the year
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. can — to be able to
  5. craft — a skill
  6. stem — to come from
  7. can — a tin
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. season — in sport
  11. bass — low music
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. can — a tin
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pound — a weight
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bass — the fish
  19. craft — boats
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. degree — temperature

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