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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: bat · march · pop · content · bear · field · rock · degree

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rock — a stone
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. pop — soda
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. pop — to visit
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. field — a subject
  11. bear — the animal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. content — happy
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rock — music
  16. march — music
  17. content — the amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. field — for sport
  20. bear — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bat — for baseball

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