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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chair — a leader
  4. march — the month
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — music
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. race — a contest
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. hide — to keep secret

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