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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — the season
  4. lean — to bend
  5. degree — an amount
  6. last — to go on
  7. object — an aim
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. march — the month
  11. object — to protest
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. fall — to drop
  14. object — a thing
  15. lean — thin
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. bear — the animal
  19. march — music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fall — to drop

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