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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. club — a group
  3. mug — to rob
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. present — the time now
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — for dancing
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. clip — a video
  17. club — for golf
  18. present — there
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. present — a gift
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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