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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 124 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. court — of law
  3. wake — a trail
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ground — a position
  14. court — for sport
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — music
  18. ground — crushed
  19. march — the month
  20. wound — an injury
  21. degree — temperature
  22. court — of a king
  23. ground — the earth
  24. lash — an eyelash

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