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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. degree — temperature
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. last — to go on
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. band — a ring
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — a trail
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bat — the animal
  15. last — final
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — from a university
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — music
  24. last — finally

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