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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. degree — temperature
  6. sharp — clever
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wake — a trail
  16. key — in music
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. key — for a lock
  20. stand — to bear
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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