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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: mug · roll · last · land · toast · calf · degree · wind

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mug — a face
  3. degree — an amount
  4. land — ground
  5. mug — to rob
  6. wind — moving air
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. last — to go on
  9. land — to come down
  10. last — final
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. last — finally
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. toast — bread
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. mug — a cup
  23. land — a country
  24. wind — to turn a key

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