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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rush — hurry
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cap — of ice
  9. snap — to click
  10. cap — a hat
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. cap — a lid
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. degree — temperature

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