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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. band — a music group
  3. pop — to visit
  4. ball — a great time
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mark — a grade
  7. march — the month
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pop — music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pit — in a race
  16. march — music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a ring
  21. pop — soda
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a dance
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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