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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. degree — temperature
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. last — final
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a grade
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mine — for digging
  12. file — a document
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. club — a group
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. march — music
  17. club — for dancing
  18. degree — from a university
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. mark — a trace
  24. temple — a place of worship

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