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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pop — soda
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. pop — to visit
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. chair — a leader
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rule — a law
  14. stock — goods
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — from a university
  17. march — the month
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stock — shares
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. march — music
  23. degree — temperature
  24. prune — to trim

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