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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. march — music
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pit — in a race
  13. stand — to bear
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. mine — for digging
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. march — the month
  23. cap — of ice
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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