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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 · rule · can · mine · wound · jam · cap · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wound — an injury
  3. season — of the year
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. can — to be able to
  10. season — in sport
  11. can — a tin
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rule — government
  14. cap — of ice
  15. rule — a law
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. can — a tin
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. mine — for digging
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. cap — a hat

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