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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. field — farmland
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — temperature
  5. face — to point toward
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. degree — an amount
  8. face — part of the head
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. race — the arms race
  12. degree — from a university
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. race — a contest
  17. field — a subject
  18. key — the most important part
  19. race — humankind
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wound — an injury
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. face — to confront

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