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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 ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mark — a grade
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. march — the month
  12. mark — a trace
  13. march — music
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. kid — child
  17. degree — from a university
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. march — the month
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. degree — temperature

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