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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mug — a cup
  3. face — part of the head
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. mug — a face
  8. date — the fruit
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — there
  11. degree — an amount
  12. face — to confront
  13. present — the time now
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. degree — from a university
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. degree — temperature
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. face — to point toward
  24. mine — belonging to me

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