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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. march — music
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. swing — to play on
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ground — crushed
  8. swing — music
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ground — the earth
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. sharp — clever
  15. degree — from a university
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — temperature
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. march — the month
  20. date — the fruit
  21. lie — to recline
  22. march — the month
  23. ground — a position
  24. can — to be able to

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