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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cap — of ice
  3. degree — an amount
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. hand — in cards
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. march — music
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. snap — to click
  11. content — happy
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cap — a lid
  14. hand — help
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cap — a hat
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. content — the amount

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