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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. fork — in a road
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. march — music
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. tear — to rip
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pass — a permit
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ground — a position

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