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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. lean — thin
  2. march — the month
  3. ball — a great time
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. lean — to bend
  6. march — music
  7. swing — music
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. march — the month
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. sharp — clever
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. prune — to trim
  16. firm — decided
  17. swing — to play on
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. prune — to trim
  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