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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pop — music
  3. march — the month
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pop — soda
  6. mark — a grade
  7. squash — the sport
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mine — for digging
  12. degree — an amount
  13. face — to confront
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pop — to visit
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. march — music
  18. mark — a trace
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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