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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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. rest — a break
  3. degree — temperature
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. board — a committee
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rest — what's left
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mine — for digging
  10. race — a contest
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. sharp — clever
  14. can — a tin
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rest — what's left
  17. can — a tin
  18. race — humankind
  19. can — to be able to
  20. board — to get on
  21. degree — an amount
  22. snap — to click
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mine — an explosive

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