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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. degree — from a university
  3. firm — decided
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. march — the month
  7. firm — a company
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. march — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rock — a stone
  13. degree — an amount
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. drill — the tool
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. rock — music
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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