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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. degree — temperature
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. toast — bread
  7. fork — in a road
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hand — help
  11. wake — a trail
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. degree — from a university
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mine — for digging
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. snap — to click
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. fork — to eat with

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