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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: drill · mouse · bear · degree · clip · foot · toast · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. toast — bread
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. drill — the tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. degree — an amount
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mine — for digging
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — for paper
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bear — the animal
  19. drill — army training
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. degree — from a university

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