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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. present — there
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. present — the time now
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. march — the month
  13. present — a gift
  14. foot — a measure
  15. degree — an amount
  16. clip — a video
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. march — music
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. cap — of ice
  21. degree — temperature
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. cap — a hat

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