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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. march — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cap — a lid
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chip — for betting
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pop — music
  15. march — the month
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cap — of ice
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bat — in an idiom

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