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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. mate — a partner
  6. season — of the year
  7. degree — an amount
  8. season — in sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. track — a path
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. field — farmland
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mate — a friend
  18. degree — from a university
  19. track — a song
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. degree — temperature
  24. field — for sport

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