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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 116 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. march — music
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. degree — an amount
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bat — the animal
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cap — of ice
  12. spell — magic
  13. march — the month
  14. swing — music
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. march — the month
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spell — letters
  20. swing — to play on
  21. deal — to handle
  22. degree — temperature
  23. swing — in golf
  24. saw — the tool

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