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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. march — the month
  6. last — finally
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. march — the month
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bound — obliged
  19. last — final
  20. content — the amount
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — happy
  23. bound — certain
  24. degree — an amount

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