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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. degree — temperature
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fall — the season
  12. saw — the tool
  13. snap — to click
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer

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