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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. last — to go on
  3. march — the month
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. land — to come down
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. court — of law
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. last — finally
  18. land — ground
  19. court — for sport
  20. last — final
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. land — a country
  23. march — the month
  24. court — of a king

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