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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 124 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cell — in biology
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. degree — temperature
  9. snap — to click
  10. stand — to bear
  11. craft — a skill
  12. dip — to sink
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cell — a phone
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. degree — an amount
  20. craft — boats
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. land — a country
  24. sharp — clever

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