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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. snap — to click
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ground — a position
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. degree — temperature
  13. toast — bread
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hide — to keep secret

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