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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 120 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mug — a cup
  5. wake — a trail
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bore — to tire
  12. clip — a video
  13. mug — to rob
  14. scale — in music
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bore — to drill
  21. scale — size or range
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bore — gave birth

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