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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: content · mate · degree · season · foot · rush · file · pass

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mate — a partner
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — to breed
  12. file — a document
  13. content — happy
  14. file — a tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. season — of the year
  17. file — a line of people
  18. foot — a measure
  19. content — the amount
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. foot — the bottom
  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