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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 jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cell — in biology
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. prune — to trim
  12. march — the month
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. swing — in golf
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. degree — temperature
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — a phone
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. march — music

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