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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 116 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: mate · bear · stand · mine · game · degree · wind · march

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. march — music
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wind — moving air
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mate — a partner
  16. march — the month
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. march — the month
  20. degree — an amount
  21. game — a match
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — to bear
  24. game — wild animals

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