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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. ball — a dance
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. board — to get on
  8. file — a document
  9. mate — to breed
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mate — a partner
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. board — a committee
  15. degree — temperature
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. file — a tool
  19. ball — a great time
  20. degree — from a university
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. mate — a friend
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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