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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. track — a song
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — from a university
  14. track — a path
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. dip — to sink
  18. degree — temperature
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bound — obliged
  21. track — to keep track
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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