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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mark — a grade
  3. spring — the season
  4. degree — temperature
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. mark — a trace
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. march — music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. court — of law
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bark — to shout
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. court — of a king
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spring — of water
  21. court — for sport
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fan — to cool the air

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