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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.

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: mate · degree · pass · chair · mine · present · racket · season

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. degree — temperature
  4. season — in sport
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mine — for digging
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. present — a gift
  10. mate — to breed
  11. present — the time now
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pass — a permit
  14. mate — a partner
  15. present — there
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. degree — an amount
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. chair — a leader
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. season — of the year
  24. pass — to spend time

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