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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. degree — from a university
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. snap — to click
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — a contest
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. fall — to drop
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chip — for betting
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bank — of a river
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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