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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. staff — employees
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. staff — a stick
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. march — the month
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. vault — a safe
  23. date — the fruit
  24. degree — from a university

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