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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — finally
  3. tube — the underground
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. field — farmland
  6. degree — temperature
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tube — a container
  10. press — a publisher
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. foot — a measure
  14. last — to go on
  15. field — a subject
  16. degree — an amount
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. press — newspapers
  19. last — final
  20. field — for sport
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. press — to push

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