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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. last — final
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. last — to go on
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. club — a group
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mug — a cup
  12. degree — an amount
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mug — to rob
  18. court — for sport
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. club — for golf
  22. wake — a trail
  23. sharp — clever
  24. last — finally

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