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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. kid — to tease
  10. key — the most important part
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rock — a stone
  14. key — in music
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rock — music
  23. kid — child
  24. sharp — clever

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