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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bound — tied together
  4. charge — electricity
  5. march — music
  6. last — final
  7. charge — a price
  8. last — finally
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. last — to go on
  17. bound — certain
  18. march — the month
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. march — the month
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. charge — in control

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