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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — a friend
  3. snap — to click
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. drill — a practice
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. face — to confront
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mate — a partner
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. face — part of the head
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pitch — completely
  22. degree — an amount
  23. drill — army training
  24. bore — to tire

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