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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fall — the season
  3. rush — hurry
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. object — to protest
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. last — final
  9. object — an aim
  10. march — the month
  11. pit — a hole
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — an amount
  14. march — music
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. march — the month
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. object — a thing
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fall — to drop
  24. degree — temperature

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