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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. degree — temperature
  3. tear — to rip
  4. mug — a cup
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mug — to rob
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. last — finally
  12. degree — an amount
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mate — a friend
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. last — to go on
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mug — a face
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — final
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pitch — completely
  23. degree — from a university
  24. nail — for a hammer

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