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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pass — a permit
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — from a university
  9. sharp — clever
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. last — finally
  15. press — to push
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. press — newspapers
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. bark — to shout

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