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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. object — to protest
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — an aim
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. present — there
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. file — a tool
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wake — a trail
  23. present — the time now
  24. file — a document

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