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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — finally
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. kick — in football
  5. march — music
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. march — the month
  11. ground — the earth
  12. march — the month
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. ground — crushed
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. last — to go on
  20. rash — a series
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. last — final
  24. wave — with your hand

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