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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rush — hurry
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fine — high quality
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rash — hasty
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. stock — shares
  15. rash — a series
  16. stock — goods
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. cue — a signal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — all right

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