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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. row — a line
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mate — a friend
  9. degree — temperature
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a partner
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. row — to paddle
  18. file — a tool
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. file — a document
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. pass — to succeed

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