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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. march — music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cold — not warm
  8. present — the time now
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. march — the month
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mug — a face
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mug — to rob
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mug — a cup
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — from a university
  23. lie — to recline
  24. present — there

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