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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pop — music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. degree — an amount
  5. march — music
  6. capital — money
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. degree — temperature
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — a city
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — decided
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. march — the month
  20. board — a committee
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. board — to get on
  23. firm — steady
  24. march — the month

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