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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pop — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. degree — temperature
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. ball — a great time
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — soda
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. season — in sport
  20. march — the month
  21. degree — an amount
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ball — a round shape

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