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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pop — soda
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pop — to visit
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pound — a weight
  11. march — the month
  12. pop — music
  13. key — in music
  14. march — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cap — a lid
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cap — a hat
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. spell — letters
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spell — a short time

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