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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. cap — a lid
  8. degree — an amount
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. fine — high quality
  12. hand — in cards
  13. sharp — clever
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to click
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bound — tied together
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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