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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · calf · mug · saw · march · degree · snap · clip

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. mine — for digging
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a cup
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. march — the month
  17. saw — the tool
  18. march — music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — for paper
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. march — the month
  24. clip — to cut

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