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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. net — in sport
  3. march — the month
  4. net — after costs
  5. march — the month
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. press — to push
  17. rest — what's left
  18. net — for catching
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. degree — an amount
  24. press — newspapers

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