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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. track — a path
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. pop — music
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. pop — to visit
  10. track — a song
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rash — hasty
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rash — a series
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. content — happy
  19. degree — from a university
  20. content — the amount
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pop — soda
  24. march — the month

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