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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cell — in biology
  3. last — final
  4. squash — to crush
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. squash — the sport
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — temperature
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. last — finally
  20. march — music
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stock — goods
  24. cell — a phone

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