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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. track — to keep track
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. stock — goods
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. march — music
  9. club — for golf
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cap — a lid
  12. track — a path
  13. march — the month
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. stock — shares
  16. club — a group
  17. track — a song
  18. club — for dancing
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cap — of ice
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. march — the month

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