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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. firm — decided
  3. march — the month
  4. club — a group
  5. march — music
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. degree — from a university
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. firm — a company
  10. club — for dancing
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. file — a document
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mark — a trace
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. file — a tool
  17. row — a line
  18. club — for golf
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mark — a grade
  22. march — the month
  23. firm — steady
  24. file — a line of people

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