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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 120 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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. degree — from a university
  3. net — in sport
  4. mug — a face
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mug — a cup
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. net — after costs
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. degree — temperature
  14. march — the month
  15. plane — a tool
  16. march — the month
  17. pass — a permit
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. net — for catching
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mug — to rob
  24. stand — for spectators

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