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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: bay · march · face · date · degree · patient · stand · dip

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. degree — temperature
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. degree — from a university
  7. march — the month
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. march — the month
  10. face — part of the head
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — music
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. degree — an amount
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. dip — to sink
  24. date — the fruit

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