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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bound — obliged
  4. drill — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. degree — temperature
  7. drill — army training
  8. bear — the animal
  9. squash — to crush
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. hand — help
  13. object — a thing
  14. drill — a practice
  15. degree — from a university
  16. object — an aim
  17. squash — the sport
  18. object — to protest
  19. snap — to click
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bound — certain
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hand — in cards

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