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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. march — the month
  3. toast — bread
  4. degree — from a university
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. degree — an amount
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. march — music
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — moving air
  12. march — the month
  13. rock — a stone
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. content — happy
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. content — the amount
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rock — to move gently

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