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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chip — for betting
  5. court — of law
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. court — for sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bass — low music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chip — to eat
  19. court — of a king
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. last — final
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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