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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — to rip
  8. press — newspapers
  9. degree — from a university
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — farmland
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — of ice
  14. press — a publisher
  15. mate — a friend
  16. march — the month
  17. press — to push
  18. field — a subject
  19. cap — a lid
  20. field — for sport
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. tear — from crying
  24. net — after costs

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