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

Word bank: degree · arm · kid · cap · mate · rule · cell · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rule — a law
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cell — a phone
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. mate — a partner
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mate — to breed
  13. march — the month
  14. cap — of ice
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. kid — to tease
  21. degree — temperature
  22. kid — child
  23. rule — government
  24. 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