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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a hole
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — a line
  7. date — the fruit
  8. pop — music
  9. degree — temperature
  10. roll — a cake
  11. row — to paddle
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. snap — to click
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pop — soda
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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