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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — a country
  3. row — a line
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. can — to be able to
  6. degree — from a university
  7. can — a tin
  8. swing — music
  9. march — the month
  10. degree — an amount
  11. can — a tin
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. land — ground
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. land — to come down
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. swing — in golf
  24. march — music

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