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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cell — a phone
  4. key — in music
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bulb — for light
  7. key — the most important part
  8. present — the time now
  9. last — final
  10. season — in sport
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. bulb — for light
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. present — there
  21. season — of the year
  22. key — for a lock
  23. present — a gift
  24. bulb — of a plant

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