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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rock — music
  4. tube — a container
  5. degree — temperature
  6. march — the month
  7. degree — an amount
  8. march — the month
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. march — music
  12. shower — rain
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fork — in a road
  16. tube — the underground
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — to handle
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. rock — a stone
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. mark — a trace

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