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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pop — to visit
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mate — a friend
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pop — music
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pop — soda
  19. mate — a partner
  20. degree — temperature
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mate — to breed
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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