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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. march — the month
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ball — a great time
  5. saw — the tool
  6. march — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bear — the animal
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. snap — to click
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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