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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. game — a match
  8. degree — from a university
  9. land — ground
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. lie — to recline
  20. game — wild animals
  21. snap — to click
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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