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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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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mark — a trace
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. present — there
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mark — a grade
  13. present — the time now
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. degree — from a university
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wax — to grow
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — a country
  22. present — a gift
  23. mug — a face
  24. clip — a video

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