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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.

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: march · sharp · rule · present · fork · pop · degree · pitch

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. march — music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pitch — completely
  10. sharp — clever
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. march — the month
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. march — the month
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pop — music
  18. degree — an amount
  19. present — there
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pop — soda

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