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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: rest · march · foot · safe · degree · bat

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. rest — a break
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. degree — an amount
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. degree — from a university
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. rest — what's left
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bat — the animal
  18. march — the month

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