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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: march · bear · tear · degree · face · fan · present · pop

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. degree — an amount
  5. present — there
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — the month
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pop — soda
  10. march — the month
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — from a university
  14. face — to point toward
  15. tear — from crying
  16. present — the time now
  17. pop — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. present — a gift
  20. tear — to rip
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. face — to confront
  24. march — music

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