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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mark — a grade
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. march — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. march — the month
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cell — in biology
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. mark — a trace
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bass — low music
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pit — in a race
  23. date — the fruit
  24. cell — in a prison

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