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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rash — a series
  7. mine — for digging
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. clip — a video
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mark — a trace
  16. degree — temperature
  17. foot — a measure
  18. rash — hasty
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wake — a trail
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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