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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.

Make a worksheet

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: pit · straw · season · rule · date · spell · degree · mine

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. spell — magic
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spell — letters
  9. season — in sport
  10. rule — a law
  11. season — of the year
  12. rule — government
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. degree — from a university
  21. date — the fruit
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mine — for digging

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