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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. mark — a trace
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rule — a law
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. degree — from a university
  10. content — the amount
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. season — of the year
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. degree — an amount
  16. march — music
  17. rule — government
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — the month
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mark — a grade
  22. content — happy
  23. season — in sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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