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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: cue · spring · fan · degree · season · rock · lie · chest

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. degree — temperature
  3. season — in sport
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rock — a stone
  8. spring — of water
  9. cue — a signal
  10. rock — music
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cue — a hint
  13. chest — a box
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. spring — the season
  17. cue — for pool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — to cool the air

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