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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. degree — an amount
  4. net — after costs
  5. tear — to rip
  6. staff — employees
  7. last — to go on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. degree — temperature
  11. staff — a stick
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. last — finally
  14. march — music
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. last — final
  20. staff — employees
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — from crying
  24. safe — a strongbox

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