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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. march — the month
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. degree — an amount
  11. track — a song
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. degree — temperature
  14. track — a path
  15. cell — a phone
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. march — the month
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bore — to drill

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