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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · present · mug · cabinet · stick · pop · saw · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. present — a gift
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hand — help
  6. mug — a cup
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pop — music
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mug — to rob
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pop — soda
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. present — there
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — from a university
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pop — to visit
  22. mug — a face
  23. present — the time now
  24. hand — in cards

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