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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. snap — to click
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. content — the amount
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. content — happy
  11. net — after costs
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. net — for catching
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rock — a stone
  16. degree — from a university
  17. net — in sport
  18. degree — an amount

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