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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: toast · swing · degree · kick · march · band · key · cap

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. march — the month
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cap — of ice
  5. degree — from a university
  6. swing — music
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. march — the month
  10. kick — in football
  11. degree — an amount
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. swing — in golf
  14. toast — bread
  15. march — music
  16. degree — temperature
  17. band — a music group
  18. cap — a lid
  19. key — in music
  20. cap — a hat
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. key — the most important part
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. swing — to play on

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