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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. last — final
  4. pound — a weight
  5. march — the month
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. degree — from a university
  8. march — the month
  9. cell — a phone
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — finally
  15. march — music
  16. last — to go on
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. wind — moving 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