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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. degree — from a university
  6. snap — to click
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. degree — an amount
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. band — a music group
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wound — an injury
  18. band — a ring
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. kid — child

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