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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pop — music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pop — soda
  5. board — to get on
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fall — to drop
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. rock — music
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — an amount
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — child
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — to visit
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. fall — the season
  23. board — a committee
  24. degree — temperature

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