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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. content — happy
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — boats
  10. degree — temperature
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mate — a friend
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mate — a partner
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. craft — a skill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — the amount
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. clip — a video
  24. content — videos and posts

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