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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · toast · cell · pop · hide · march

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — a phone
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pop — soda
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. degree — from a university
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. cell — in biology
  14. march — the month
  15. toast — bread
  16. pop — to visit
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pop — 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