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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fine — high quality
  3. firm — a company
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. march — the month
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. firm — decided
  10. march — the month
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bat — the animal
  16. degree — temperature
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. face — to confront
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. firm — steady
  24. degree — an amount

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