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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. current — happening now
  5. squash — the sport
  6. current — electric
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pass — a permit
  19. degree — from a university
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. current — of water
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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