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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bank — of a river
  5. mug — to rob
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. drill — a practice
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mug — a cup
  15. march — the month
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. march — the month
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. march — music
  21. mug — a face
  22. drill — army training
  23. cell — in biology
  24. drill — 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