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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pop — to visit
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rush — hurry
  10. stem — to come from
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — soda
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cap — of ice
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mug — to rob
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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