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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. march — the month
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. degree — from a university
  6. current — of water
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. band — a music group
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — a position
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. snap — to click
  17. current — electric
  18. degree — temperature
  19. current — happening now
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. ground — the earth
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. march — music

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