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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. kid — child
  3. bound — certain
  4. season — in sport
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. march — the month
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. degree — an amount
  12. clip — a video
  13. kid — to tease
  14. clip — to cut
  15. season — of the year
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. march — the month
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bound — tied together
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — obliged
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. board — to get on

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