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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 works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. march — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. file — a document
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. march — the month
  11. deal — to handle
  12. march — the month
  13. firm — steady
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. file — a tool
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. firm — decided
  22. degree — from a university
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spring — the season

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