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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — of the year
  3. object — a thing
  4. band — a music group
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. band — a ring
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. degree — from a university
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. season — in sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. object — to protest
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. object — an aim
  23. tube — the underground
  24. degree — temperature

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