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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 was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a music group
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — a phone
  7. march — the month
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. march — music
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — in biology
  16. roll — a list
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a word
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. root — of a plant
  23. roll — a cake
  24. field — farmland

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