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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  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. land — a country
  2. key — in music
  3. key — the most important part
  4. march — music
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. march — the month
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cold — an illness
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mark — a grade
  15. key — for a lock
  16. band — a ring
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a music group
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. stand — to bear
  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