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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mug — a face
  3. march — the month
  4. land — ground
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mug — to rob
  8. cold — an illness
  9. land — a country
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. march — the month
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. mug — a cup
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — to come down
  24. cold — not warm

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