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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 116 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: rock · fork · coach · cold · march · degree · safe · bear

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. march — the month
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rock — a stone
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. march — the month
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. rock — music
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bear — the animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cold — an illness

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