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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. degree — from a university
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. degree — temperature
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. field — for sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. field — a subject
  10. shower — rain
  11. degree — an amount
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — of the year
  15. mark — a trace
  16. capital — money
  17. mark — a grade
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. season — in sport
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — a cup
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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