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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. degree — an amount
  5. march — the month
  6. season — of the year
  7. current — of water
  8. degree — temperature
  9. key — for a lock
  10. current — electric
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mine — for digging
  13. date — the fruit
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. march — the month
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. season — in sport
  22. degree — from a university
  23. march — music
  24. current — happening now

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