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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wake — a trail
  4. content — happy
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. press — newspapers
  10. swing — to play on
  11. press — a publisher
  12. swing — in golf
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. degree — temperature
  16. press — to push
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. swing — music
  21. content — the amount
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. degree — from a university
  24. track — to keep track

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