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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. degree — temperature
  4. last — finally
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pit — a hole
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bore — to tire
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — a video
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pit — in a race
  17. last — to go on
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. last — final
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to drill

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