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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. content — the amount
  3. march — the month
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. sharp — clever
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. last — finally
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. key — for a lock
  12. last — final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. key — the most important part
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — in music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. last — to go on
  21. content — happy
  22. scale — size or range
  23. key — in music
  24. prune — to trim

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