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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
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: mug · face · mate · present · hand · toast · clip · wake

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. present — there
  3. face — to confront
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. mate — a friend
  6. hand — help
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mug — to rob
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mug — a face
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. face — part of the head
  16. present — the time now
  17. face — to point toward
  18. hand — in cards
  19. clip — a video
  20. toast — bread
  21. present — a gift
  22. mug — a cup
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wake — before a funeral

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