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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. track — a song
  5. degree — an amount
  6. date — the fruit
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. pop — to visit
  11. track — to keep track
  12. degree — temperature
  13. net — in sport
  14. track — a path
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. net — for catching
  19. march — the month
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — from a university
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. net — after costs
  24. date — on the calendar

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