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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. current — electric
  3. rule — a law
  4. march — the month
  5. current — happening now
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. current — of water
  8. toast — bread
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rule — government
  12. march — music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. march — the month
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rule — to rule out

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