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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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. march — the month
  4. snap — to click
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. firm — steady
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. firm — decided
  12. capital — money
  13. firm — a company
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pound — a weight
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. degree — temperature
  23. capital — a city
  24. hand — help

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