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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. band — a music group
  3. degree — from a university
  4. race — a contest
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. march — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. race — humankind
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. key — for a lock
  11. degree — temperature
  12. net — for catching
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. key — the most important part
  15. race — the arms race
  16. march — the month
  17. net — in sport
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. net — after costs
  23. pass — a permit
  24. band — a ring

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