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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bound — tied together
  5. spell — a short time
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. spell — letters
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ground — a position
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. stem — to come from
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — from a university
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bound — certain
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bound — obliged

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