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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — of water
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mark — a grade
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. degree — from a university
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. snap — to click
  16. mug — a cup
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. kick — in football

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