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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — money
  5. club — for dancing
  6. march — music
  7. rock — music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. degree — temperature
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. sharp — clever
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. degree — an amount
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. capital — a city
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — for catching
  21. club — a group
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. club — for golf

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