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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. content — the amount
  3. file — a line of people
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. march — the month
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. march — the month
  10. mate — to breed
  11. tear — from crying
  12. foot — a measure
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — a safe
  15. mate — a partner
  16. content — happy
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tear — to rip
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mate — a friend

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