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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spring — the season
  4. rest — what's left
  5. spring — of water
  6. mug — a face
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bat — the animal
  10. clip — a video
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. degree — an amount
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rock — music
  16. mug — a cup
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. degree — temperature
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rest — a break

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