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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. present — a gift
  3. degree — an amount
  4. suit — in cards
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. suit — clothes
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. suit — to fit
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pound — a weight
  14. land — a country
  15. mug — a face
  16. present — the time now
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. land — ground
  20. mug — a cup
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — temperature
  23. present — there
  24. bat — for baseball

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