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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. march — the month
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. march — the month
  7. face — to confront
  8. fall — to drop
  9. squash — to crush
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. face — to point toward
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. face — part of the head
  18. degree — temperature
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. march — music
  21. degree — an amount
  22. squash — the sport
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. present — there

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