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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fall — to drop
  4. object — an aim
  5. fall — to drop
  6. degree — an amount
  7. drill — army training
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. content — happy
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. object — a thing
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mate — to breed
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. snap — to click
  21. object — to protest
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fall — the season

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