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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 120 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spring — a coil
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — in sport
  11. cap — of ice
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cap — a lid
  14. season — of the year
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pass — a permit
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cap — a hat
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. game — a match

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