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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. cell — a phone
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. band — a music group
  9. degree — an amount
  10. band — a ring
  11. degree — from a university
  12. march — music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bulb — for light
  20. toast — bread
  21. march — the month
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. toast — the most admired

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