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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. key — in music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. snap — to click
  5. key — for a lock
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. degree — an amount
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cold — not warm
  10. hand — help
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. degree — from a university
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. rush — hurry
  23. bass — the fish
  24. degree — temperature

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