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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: dip · degree · field · mouse · tear · march · prune · chest

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chest — a box
  4. tear — from crying
  5. field — a subject
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. march — the month
  9. degree — from a university
  10. field — for sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — farmland
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. march — the month
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mouse — the animal

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