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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bore — to tire
  4. squash — the sport
  5. degree — an amount
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. content — happy
  8. season — of the year
  9. bore — to drill
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bat — the animal
  14. snap — to click
  15. season — in sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. degree — from a university
  18. scale — in music
  19. content — the amount
  20. scale — size or range
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. squash — to crush
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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