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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. clip — to cut
  8. field — farmland
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. field — for sport
  13. pop — to visit
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pop — music
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. field — a subject
  19. degree — an amount
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mug — a cup
  22. pop — soda
  23. clip — a video
  24. mug — to rob

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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