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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cell — a phone
  3. degree — an amount
  4. sharp — clever
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. degree — temperature
  7. current — electric
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ball — a great time
  14. current — happening now
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. degree — from a university
  19. ball — a dance
  20. current — of water
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. patient — a sick person

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