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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  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 — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. lean — to bend
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. degree — temperature
  6. key — in music
  7. swing — music
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. march — the month
  12. lean — thin
  13. key — the most important part
  14. content — happy
  15. swing — in golf
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. key — for a lock
  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