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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fine — all right
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a face
  5. hand — help
  6. land — to come down
  7. mug — a cup
  8. land — a country
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. land — ground
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fine — high quality
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. degree — temperature

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