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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 116 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 valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. degree — an amount
  3. object — an aim
  4. band — a music group
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. object — to protest
  9. march — music
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — final
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a ring
  24. march — the month

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