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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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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 · last · degree · rash · capital · dip · rush · mate

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — in sport
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mate — to breed
  6. rash — hasty
  7. capital — a city
  8. last — finally
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. season — of the year
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. capital — money
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rush — hurry
  19. degree — from a university
  20. dip — to sink
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rash — a series
  23. mate — a partner
  24. season — to add flavour

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