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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bass — low music
  3. press — a publisher
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. band — a music group
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. band — a ring
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bass — the fish
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. march — the month
  18. press — newspapers
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. press — to push
  21. cap — a lid
  22. foot — a measure
  23. march — music
  24. coach — a trainer

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