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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. rash — a series
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fall — to drop
  6. degree — temperature
  7. game — a match
  8. fall — the season
  9. snap — to click
  10. rest — what's left
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. prune — to trim
  15. game — wild animals
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rest — a break
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cap — of ice
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cap — a hat
  24. game — a kind of play

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