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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. toast — bread
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. ground — crushed
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — to cut
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. ground — the earth
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. clip — a video
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. ground — a position
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. snap — to click
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. dip — to dunk

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