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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 · prune · nail · degree · date · face · content · jam

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. face — to point toward
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. face — to confront
  7. degree — temperature
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. face — part of the head
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. prune — to trim
  15. march — the month
  16. date — the fruit
  17. content — the amount
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. degree — from a university
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. degree — an amount
  24. date — on the calendar

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