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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. snap — to click
  6. pound — a weight
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — there
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. present — the time now
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. degree — an amount
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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