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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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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: toast · mate · mine · degree · mark · wind · staff · cabinet

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. staff — employees
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. staff — a stick
  16. mine — for digging
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — a trace
  20. toast — bread
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mate — to breed
  24. toast — the most admired

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