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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. march — the month
  3. degree — an amount
  4. current — happening now
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rest — a break
  10. current — electric
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rest — what's left
  13. present — the time now
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. present — there
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. current — of water

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