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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. present — a gift
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. present — the time now
  5. degree — an amount
  6. current — electric
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — to shout
  10. current — of water
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. march — music
  13. last — final
  14. present — there
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — from a university
  17. march — the month
  18. last — finally
  19. bat — the animal
  20. spell — magic
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spell — letters
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. current — happening now

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