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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stand — to bear
  4. snap — to click
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chip — to eat
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rash — a series
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stand — for spectators

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