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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stand — to bear
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. key — the most important part
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — in cards
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. key — for a lock
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. key — in music
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. rock — music
  22. mine — for digging
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rock — a stone

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