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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. branch — a division
  6. march — the month
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spring — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cell — in biology
  16. degree — temperature
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cell — a phone
  19. spring — of water
  20. degree — an amount
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pit — a hole
  24. branch — of a tree

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