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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. mate — to breed
  3. degree — an amount
  4. scale — in music
  5. mate — a partner
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. degree — from a university
  8. season — in sport
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. season — of the year
  12. swing — to play on
  13. mate — a friend
  14. scale — size or range
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. degree — temperature
  19. last — to go on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. chair — a leader
  23. deal — to handle
  24. swing — music

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