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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · mine · mate · march · pass · pitcher · degree · ground

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mate — to breed
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ground — a position
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mate — a partner
  18. degree — from a university
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — the earth

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