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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. charge — in control
  4. degree — temperature
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. scale — in music
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bound — tied together
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. charge — electricity
  17. stand — to bear
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tear — to rip
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. charge — a price
  23. wind — moving air
  24. scale — for weighing

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