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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · degree · suit · mine · lie · cold · board · kid

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. lie — to recline
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cold — not warm
  6. suit — clothes
  7. degree — from a university
  8. board — to get on
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. suit — to fit
  14. suit — in cards
  15. kid — to tease
  16. board — a committee
  17. season — of the year
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — child
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cold — an illness

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