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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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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. march — the month
  5. current — of water
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cold — not warm
  9. current — happening now
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cold — an illness
  15. march — music
  16. stand — to bear
  17. current — electric
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bass — low music
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. degree — temperature

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