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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mate — a partner
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. degree — temperature
  7. march — music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rush — hurry
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. march — the month
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. degree — an amount
  19. content — happy
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. content — the amount
  23. scale — in music
  24. rush — a thrill

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