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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. march — music
  5. rush — hurry
  6. club — for golf
  7. march — the month
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. clip — to cut
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. degree — from a university
  17. clip — a video
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. club — for dancing
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. club — a group
  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