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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spring — of water
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mug — a face
  5. foot — a measure
  6. staff — employees
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mark — a grade
  12. wake — a trail
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — the season
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. mug — to rob
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mark — a trace
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. staff — a stick
  24. mug — a cup

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